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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 16, 2012 Contact: Karen Castor Dentel 407-312-8310 [email protected] Carrying on tradition of public service, teacher Karen Castor Dentel announces run for House District 30 Maitland, FL - Maitland teacher Karen Castor Dentel today announced her candidacy for the newly drawn Florida State House District 30. Several factors combined to convince Dentel, 43, to shift her attention from running a classroom to running for office. "I am running to improve public education and fight for better economic opportunities for our neighbors in Orange and Seminole," said Dentel. "As an elementary school teacher and mother-of-two, I am increasingly frustrated with the substantial harm being inflicted on our students and our public schools by the state legislature. I want the best for our students, our schools and our community,” Dentel said. “As a classroom teacher, I know what works and what doesn't and I’ll bring my positive know-how to the state capitol.” Dentel, the PTA and parents across the state were galvanized by the progress last legislative session of the so-called "Parent Trigger bill," which would have allowed private corporations to take over struggling public schools. “That bill was a perfect example of everything that is wrong in Tallahassee. Not only is it bad policy to just hand public assets to private businesses, but the process of pushing that bill through committee was rigged as well: The bill’s supporters wouldn’t allow any real discussion or criticism before it was voted on. There was a deliberate attempt to shut out parents and teachers from the process," Dentel said. “That was what convinced me that I needed to concentrate on fighting for every student in the state, rather than just the ones in my class.” “As the economy continues to improve, we must ensure that there are good jobs for graduates and that housing values do not weigh down families. We need people in office whose concerns of the middle class take priority over special interests. The people running the state have taken advantage of these tough times to strip away protections from workers and the people of Florida, and our environment. The things that make Florida so special – clean air, clean water, all of it – should be cherished and protected, not auctioned off to the highest bidder," noted Dentel. Dentel has been an Orlando resident since 1990 after graduating from Vanderbilt University. She teaches a combined second- and third-grade class at Dommerich Elementary in Maitland, where she lives with her husband, Eric, 11-year-old son, Wyatt, and 8-year-old daughter, Caroline. Both Wyatt and Caroline attend Dommerich Elementary, where Dentel has taught for 6 years. Karen Castor Dentel's mother, Betty Castor, served in the Florida Senate and as state Education Commissioner. Her sister, Kathy Castor, has represented Florida’s 11th Congressional District since 2007. Her brother, Frank Castor, a Palm Beach County judge, was elected in 2006, and her father, Don Castor, retired from the bench in Hillsborough County in 1996. In part because of a family devoted to public service, Dentel spent many hours volunteering in community settings. But she resisted elective office when others told her that she ought to run for office on her own. “I’m proud to be a teacher, and always have been,” said Dentel, who has a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Florida. “I’ve always seen teaching as public service, just as, and sometimes more, important than holding office. Teachers may not get to be as famous as politicians, but we shape Florida’s future in a way that politicians can’t.” # # # .

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