Last bell for summer school in Pinellas?

The county may eliminate the traditional program because of a tighter budget and a shorter summer vacation.

By KELLY RYAN GILMER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 9, 2002

LARGO -- Thanks to budget cuts and a shortened summer vacation, Pinellas officials are considering eliminating the district's traditional summer school program this year and finding other ways to help thousands of struggling students.

In a proposal floated to School Board members Tuesday, every middle and high school in the county would come up with its own program to replace summer school.

For middle schools, the program could be before or after school and run for three weeks past the end of the school year. For high schools, it could be after school and on Saturdays and extend for three weeks past the end of school.

Eligible special-education students would be able to stay in school for 11 extra days. No program would be offered for elementary schools.

School Board members will vote on the proposal Jan. 29. If approved, middle and high school programs would start soon after.

Board members expressed frustration that the proposal doesn't include programs for the youngest at-risk students, who often go on to become struggling middle and high school students.

They asked district officials to try to find some money, somewhere, to give elementary schools the chance to offer extra help if they think their students would benefit.

"We know that if we don't get them then, we lose them," said board member Jane Gallucci. "We're short-changing kids if we don't offer them something."

Once used by many, summer school has been slowly dying. Since 2000, Pinellas has cut summer programs for students who wanted to work ahead and has limited enrollment to those failing or at risk of failing. Other districts around the state have done the same. If the School Board votes to eliminate summer school this year, it seems unlikely it would be brought back in its traditional form.

In 2001, a total of 10,000 students attended summer school in Pinellas. In 1999, more than 11,000 high school students alone attended summer school.

Pinellas is not alone in making tough decisions in tough budget times. Hillsborough County, for example, cut summer school last month. In its place are after-school programs.

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