Student leaders question Lennard

The school superintendent is grilled by 40 student newspaper editors and student government officers.

By MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 28, 2002

TAMPA -- The questions weren't exactly the type you'd expect from high schoolers: What's being done to keep our schools safe? Can you explain the recent budget cuts? Is a year-round school calendar a possibility?

At a no-holds-barred forum Wednesday with Hillsborough school superintendent Earl Lennard, 40 student newspaper editors and student government officers from 19 high schools went beyond typical teen inquiries like "Why can't we wear backless shoes?" or "Why is the food in the cafeteria so bad?"

Even Lennard was surprised at the tone of the questions the 12th annual student news conference at Brandon High School. In years past, students always asked about more trivial matters, like why they were prohibited from smoking at school.

Wednesday, notepads on their laps, the students took turns quizzing Lennard for an hour and half on subjects ranging from school security to details about the new voluntary desegregation plan that begins in 2004.

Ryan Roeling of Sickles High School wanted to know why the school district was spending so much money completely replacing textbooks instead of just replacing old, lost or damaged ones.

Lennard told him that the school district is trying to invest in CD-ROMs or other electronically driven educational materials that don't go out of date so quickly.

"I don't think we'll ever replace the textbook, or replace books per se," he said. "But we will have a different use for them.

"Are we there yet? No we're not."

But Lennard's answer puzzled Brittney Seabury of East Bay High School, who wondered how CD-ROMs could ever take the place of books.

"How can you ensure that every kid has a computer at home?" in which to use CD-ROMs, she asked.

Lennard replied: "Until every student has a personal access device, we wouldn't be able to do that. I'm looking into the future. I'm not talking about next year."

Toward the end of the forum, one girl asked if more budget cuts, like this year's slicing of summer school, could be expected again next year.

"I wish I had that crystal ball to tell," Lennard said.

-- Melanie Ave can be reached at (813) 226-3400 or melanie@sptimes.com.

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