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REBECCA CATALANELLOHoping that Florida sees no more big storms, educators map out a plan to recover teaching time lost to them.
LAND O'LAKES - School officials hope this is the last time they'll have to talk about this.
Pasco County School Board members on Tuesday approved a plan to make up four of the five days students and teachers missed because of hurricane closures this academic year.
"I really think we've done the best we can do," board member Kathleen Wolf said.
Already, students were told they would have to attend class Oct. 15 (a teacher training day) and Nov. 11 (Veterans Day).
Now, they should tack on Jan. 4 (a teacher training day) and plan on staying five minutes a day later between Oct. 11 and Feb. 9 - extra time that will add up to one instructional day over the course of 72 days.
Teachers will be expected to report to school for training Jan. 3 - previously a planning day - and will be asked to squeeze in the 71/2 hours of planning time before and after school, assistant superintendent Sandy Ramos said.
Board members said public response to the five minutes idea was mixed. Administrators considered adding a day onto the end of the school year, but superintendent John Long said he didn't know how families would take such a move.
"We didn't know if people would come back, if it would just be a play day," Long said.
The district already had one more instructional day than the state requires built into the schedule, so only four make-up days were needed.
Also during the meeting, the board approved creating two new administrative positions:
A director of employee assistance programs will be hired to oversee the counseling program designed a few years ago by Bill Alexander, the former director of employee benefits who retired earlier this year.
Long said the district needed to create the position because Alexander was an unusual hire who knew insurance and was a licensed psychologist. He said he knew that when Alexander left, the odds of finding another employee who could do both jobs would be rare.
A new supervisor of planning will work closely under planning director Mike Rapp, who is nearing retirement. This person will help develop strategies for housing students, acquiring land for future schools and more. Long said he felt it was important to get someone working closely with Rapp to learn the job hands-on. He also noted that the district eliminated another supervisory position when Todd Guttman moved from being supervisor to replace Alexander as a director.
Long said the net budgetary effect of the administrative changes would come to about $60,000 per year.
Rebecca Catalanello covers education in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. Her e-mail address is rcatalanello@sptimes.com