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Officials scrap idea to close some schools

The school district needs to cut its budget, but Southside Fundamental Middle and two elementaries will stay open.

By THOMAS C. TOBIN
Published February 11, 2006

Pinellas County school officials still don't know how they will cut $19.7-million from their budget, but they know what they're not going to do.

They scrapped an idea to close a handful of small, older schools in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. They rejected suggestions to privatize major operations such as food service or groundskeeping.

And Southside Fundamental Middle School and two elementary schools, North Ward and Lakeview Fundamental, will remain open.

With rumors of possible cuts swirling, more than 20 high-ranking administrators emerged after a daylong meeting with more work to do, school superintendent Clayton Wilcox said. He said he and some administrators would work over the weekend to firm up a list before presenting it to the School Board at a Monday workshop.

Southside and Lakeview are in St. Petersburg. North Ward is in Clearwater. All three schools occupy smaller, older buildings that Wilcox publicly suggested could be closed or folded into other schools to save money.

Parents at North Ward Elementary gathered at the school Friday to speak out against closing the school, though it never became more than an idea. Some sent e-mails to Wilcox and the School Board, with one parent scolding officials: "Shame on you for even considering it."

Parents and teachers at Lakeview and Southside voiced similar concerns in recent days.

As administrators studied the idea, it became clear the cost savings were not large enough when balanced against the upset that closing the schools would cause, Wilcox said.

The early backlash illustrates a downside to Wilcox's policy of operating with what he calls "transparency."

When principals met recently to offer their budget cut suggestions, the district posted all of their ideas - good, bad or ugly - on its Web site.

Wilcox held meetings with teachers, other employees and others in the community, freely airing what he might consider.

He also invited the public to weigh in on his blog on the St. Petersburg Times Web site.

The open dialogue gives people more information than they normally would receive on such matters. But it also fed rumor and speculation. In some instances, the notion that Wilcox was considering an idea morphed into false reports by parents and teachers that it was a done deal.

Bloggers ruminated about the implications of Wilcox's decision to save $5-million by outsourcing janitorial and maintenance services while in his last job as school superintendent in Baton Rouge, La. They were sure he would do the same in Pinellas.

The superintendent said Friday there are no major plans for large-scale privatization of district functions, though he did not rule out that department heads might decide on their own to cut costs by hiring outside labor for targeted tasks.

He added, "Our board has said clearly that (outsourcing) is not something they want to do."

Wilcox said he wanted the public to know that all parts of the budget were being considered.

"There were no sacred cows in this," he said, "and I think people would expect that of us."

The district's philosophy is to stay as far away from schools as possible with budget cuts, Wilcox said. He said the group that met Friday looked closely at the district's central office, its human relations department, its curriculum and instruction division and its Largo warehouse complex, known as the Walter Pownall Service Center.

Administrators plan to give the School Board a set of budget-cutting suggestions totaling about $22-million, which will give board members options as they aim for the $19.7-million mark.

District officials are looking to "right size" the school system, so the idea is to look for lasting cuts, Wilcox has said.

The cuts became necessary because the district failed to pare back years ago in the face of inflation and declining revenues from the Florida Legislature, he said. That seriously eroded the district's reserves, budget officials said.

Times staff writer Eileen Schulte contributed to this report.

[Last modified February 11, 2006, 06:32:02]