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In Our Schools

Student safety needs to be board's priority

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published December 22, 2006

The death of 15-year-old Camden Allen White, who was hit by a car while crossing the street to go to Brandon High School earlier this month, has galvanized interest in improving traffic safety outside schools - high schools in particular.

School Board chairman Jack Lamb has asked the Hillsborough legislative delegation to help steer the creation of a statewide task force through the Department of Transportation. Local funding is limited, Lamb said, and the priority always has been on the lower grades.

The time has come, he suggested, for the state to review the current situation and find solutions that will make children safer.

Lamb is not alone.

Students at Brandon and Chamberlain high schools have submitted proposals in Rep. Kevin Ambler and Sen. Victor Crist's "There Ought To Be A Law" contest that would tackle the same problem.

Parents have come to School Board meetings begging for action. The momentum seems to be growing, though the delegation has made no commitments at this time.

It's time for lawmakers to get on board.

So many county high schools sit on major streets - Gaither on N Dale Mabry Highway, Plant on S Dale Mabry, Chamberlain on Busch Boulevard, and Newsome on Fishhawk Boulevard just to name a few.

Yet try to guess it if you don't know it. Some of the school buildings look like they could be a business complex, a shopping center, even a gated community.

You certainly wouldn't get any hint from flashing lights, warning signs, lower speed limits or brightly painted crosswalks. They don't exist.

Kids just have to trust their instincts and hope for the best if they try to walk or bike to their schools.

Several School Board members worried aloud at a recent meeting that it could be just a matter of time before another fatal accident claims another teen.

The Hillsborough School Board runs a massive operation, and it has a correspondingly lengthy legislative agenda.

It wants more specificity on what to do under class-size rules if a student shows up at a school and all the classrooms are full.

It seeks more guarantees of local control on issues such as academic year calendars, which the Legislature hijacked last year.

It hopes to see more state money put into teacher pay, to bring Florida's average salary at least to the national average. And that's just for starters.

That Lamb would use his time before the delegation to focus on one issue, that of student safety on roads outside of school campuses, speaks volumes to its importance.

Here's hoping the message was loud enough for lawmakers to take note and do something.

- - -

With support growing for heightened safety on roads outside schools, there's a good possibility that at least Crist and Ambler will take up the matter through There Ought To Be A Law.

Delegation members will judge the proposals during a town hall meeting on Jan. 20, with the prize being sponsorship in Tallahassee by Ambler and Crist.

But the issue is one of several up for consideration. Twenty of 25 high schools have submitted ideas, and just two deal with traffic safety. Among the others are:

-Making all parks and recreation centers smoke-free (Alonso).

-Requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets (Durant and Jefferson).

-Awarding high school graduation credits for community service hours (Robinson).

-Prohibiting men from "slabbing," or wearing their pants so low that their underwear shows (Middleton).

Students will have three minutes to defend their proposals to the lawmakers, who will choose the top concept for a bill.

The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. in the school district headquarters, and the public is invited to attend.

- - -

Not everyone is happy with the lengthy list of approved high school majors that the Department of Education released last week.

Jason Mims, an advocate for black males in education, has complained to Education Commissioner John Winn about a glaring absence on the list: black history and black studies.

"Some of us are counting the days, weeks, months, or years before the Florida Department of Education revises its comprehensive list of high school majors so that it includes the history of 22 percent of Florida's high school students," Mims wrote.

The topics are there.

Four majors include a course in African-American history, and another four majors offer courses in African history. But for a major of its own, no such luck.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said state officials are looking into the matter. A spokeswoman for Hillsborough schools said the district is working on a major locally.

Have opinions about this column, or ideas for future ones? Contact Jeffrey S. Solochek at solochek@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5304.

[Last modified December 21, 2006, 07:58:40]