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Jessica's death spurs law, playground
Homosassa Elementary School's new cafeteria and media center finally open after serious construction flaws are corrected.
By Times Staff
Published December 26, 2005
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Jessica Lunsford attended Homosassa Elementary.
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HOMOSASSA - It was a year of highs and lows at Homosassa Elementary School.
The community suffered a great loss with the death of Jessica Lunsford, a third-grader. Volunteers built a playground in her memory.
Legislators passed a sweeping new law that, among other things, beefed up requirements for background checks on vendors who do business in the schools. There was confusion early on, as school systems statewide tried to interpret and enforce the new law.
The law came about at least in part because of disclosures that John Couey, the convicted sex offender accused of kidnapping Jessica from her home and killing her, worked construction at the Homosassa campus. There were no indications they had contact at the school.
With serious construction flaws finally corrected, the school's new cafeteria and media center opened. The School Board received final reports by three different groups that reviewed the construction debacle and recommended changes to prevent any repeats.
Since that report and others from the Florida Department of Education and a private firm, ZHA Inc., district officials have been working to beef up their construction management process and provide a stronger system of checks and balances for future building projects.
[Last modified December 26, 2005, 10:51:40]
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