Schools

Lots of ups and downs in a year full of changes

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
Published December 27, 2007

FCAT STANDARDS: Cox Elementary School students look over a science experiment involving germinating seeds under different conditions. Cox was trying to avoid federal sanctions because of continued low performance on the FCAT.
	[Mike Pease | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Keri Wiginton | Times] THREE-STORY SCHOOL: Justin Hibner puts in drywall in a classroom at Charles S. Rushe Middle School in July. The Odessa school became the district's first three-story school with district plans to build up instead of out. Pasco School Board member Cathi Martin became more notable for her repeated absences from meetings than for her participation.

LAND O'LAKES - The Pasco School Board banned teachers from having "offensive" visible tattoos and body piercings. It told seniors who don't pass the FCAT they still can walk at graduation if they've meet all the other requirements. And it pressured two charter schools into closing.

It wasn't a dull year in the school district.

Superintendent Heather Fiorentino had her name circulated as a possible replacement to the state's retiring education commissioner. It didn't happen, and now she's running for re-election.

Board member Cathi Martin became more notable for her repeated absences from meetings than for her participation. Some folks called for her removal, which only the governor can do, or her resignation, which didn't come. But when she asked to attend board meetings remotely, her colleagues said, essentially, no way.

County commissioners fought with the School Board along the way over the question of which government would use your tax money to pay for road improvements outside new schools. They're still trying to work it out.

That issue doesn't occur frequently, but it's a possibility here more than in many other districts. Pasco was just one of five counties in Florida to see enrollment rise during 2007, keeping the need alive for more new schools.

New heights

Speaking of which, the district debuted its first-ever three-story school, Rushe Middle in Odessa. District officials said they plan to continue building up, rather than out, to save money while purchasing land. They also want to find more ways to conserve property with such ideas as joint use with parks and recreation.

Like so many districts nationally, Pasco came face to face with the restructuring penalty phase of No Child Left Behind. Two schools - Cox and Hudson elementaries - began planning for possible overhauls if their academic performance doesn't improve to meet federal standards by the March FCAT cycle.

Fiorentino's administration took a distinctly hands-on approach to the preparations, sending all sorts of district administrators to guide the efforts. The School Board is supposed to get recommendations on what to do with the schools in the spring.

A new approach

Pasco also made its first foray into the world of career academies, following the state's drive to improve training opportunities for students who aren't necessarily planning to go to college after high school. Even before the Legislature mandated districts to create five-year plans for career and technical education, Pasco school and community leaders began working on ways to create institutes that will feed the area's high-wage, high-skill businesses.

The district's first, focusing on information technology, is set to open in January at Wiregrass Ranch High School.

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Kids who had been suspended or expelled started showing up at School Board meetings to apologize as part of their deals with the juvenile judge in west Pasco. Surprised, the board had to work out a procedure just to ensure that the students didn't identify themselves. It put its foot down and refused to let the students make public apologies at school assemblies, as the judge requested.

Teachers angrily rejected the state's proposal to pay any part of their salary based on student FCAT results, getting the board's support in opposing the merit pay plan. District employees also overwhelmingly but grudgingly approved raises of about 4 percent toward the end of the year, noting that Pasco's pay would lag behind that of neighboring districts.

And the matter of missing funds from Pasco High School's athletic gate receipts remains in the hands of the Dade City Police Department.

The year 2008 offers continued action in the school district.

Students at two new schools, New River and Gulf Trace elementary schools, are slated move into their new buildings during first months of the year. Two more new schools are scheduled to welcome students in the fall.

The School Board plans to adopt its first-ever strategic plan, and to revamp its entire policy manual for the first time in decades. Several high-ranking district officials, including veteran administrator Sandy Ramos and four-term board member Marge Whaley, will step down.

And money could get even tighter, depending on state revenue and the outcome of a late January constitutional referendum on whether to change the property tax structure.

Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at solochek@sptimes.com or 813 909-4614. For more education news, visit the Gradebook at blogs.tampabay.com/schools.

[Last modified December 26, 2007, 22:02:50]