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Letters to the EditorsLetter writers tell it to Tellone
© St. Petersburg Times, Superintendent Tellone: I would like to see you bring back discipline to the school system. Teachers need the right to train students in proper conduct and actions. Training is needed in many social living areas: Personal finances: Including the ability to make change without looking at a cash register. Financial planning: Stock, bonds, banking courses. All insurance areas. Real estate purchasing and understanding paybacks. Furniture and interior decorating. Home repairs. School driver's license courses, with required driving time. Personal health and general health. Boys and girls should be taught cooking in good kitchen labs at school. Writing resumes and reports. Let's stop all those ball sports and get to work on something useful.
Superintendent Tellone: I have decided to write you in hope of making conditions better for all concerned. The Transportation Department of the Hernando County School District is in need of your attention. The turnover of personnel (drivers) is about 25 percent, or greater, a year. The pay is poor, to say the least. The training is inadequate. The help, or lack of from the School Board administration, is little to none. If you or the School Board would like to pursue this any further, please feel free to contact me. I have been a substitute bus driver for the Hernando Board of Education for the past six years. With all due respect, I hope this will help you look into the problems at the Transportation Department of the Hernando County School District.
Superintendent Tellone: I am writing in concern for the public school system's dress code policy -- or should I say, lack of a dress code policy? I am a senior at Hernando High School, and throughout my time here I have been taken aback because it seems there is no sense of decency anymore. School is supposed to be a learning environment, not somewhere to show off as much of your body as possible. Yes, of course, the principal and teachers have stressed to us that we should abide by the dress code standards or we will be punished. But frankly, I see little being done. Another issue I feel strongly about is the bus system. I am lucky if I can go one minute before hearing profanity or obscene talk. Every day! The kids show a lack of respect for each other, the bus driver, and ultimately the school bus system, because they don't abide by the rules. I would like to go into more detail, but I only have so much time. I hope and pray that as the new superintendent of Hernando County Schools, you can help these situations in some way. Concerning the dress code: Hire someone to monitor the school throughout the day. Concerning the school bus situation: I know there are video cameras on the bus, but microphones would be helpful, as well, to get the full story when a complaint is made. I appreciate the work you have done and will do in the future, and I hope something will be done to make Hernando County schools even better places to develop an education. Thanks for listening!
Superintendent Tellone: First, I want to wish you every success in your well-earned position. I am a volunteer at Westside Elementary School and help students in first and second grades who have difficulty reading on their levels. Having taught adult nonreaders in the the past, I feel very strongly about the importance of finding and aiding students who need help before they slip through the cracks and become illiterate adults. As you know, we now have in place a wonderful program for second-grade readers who need extra help. Mrs. Setzer is the specialist at our school, and with her patience and expertise she is doing such a great job with these kids. We volunteers who add our few hours alongside hers want desperately for this reading program to remain intact and not be lost in a budget crunch. This is my plea to you as you become the guiding light for Hernando schools: Help make all America literate by continuing the special reading classes.
Superintendent Tellone: Hernando County does not have a community pool for residents or the three (soon to be four) high schools. In most counties we have visited in Florida, high schools are built with a pool facility for training high school athletes, gym classes (on hot days) and for residents' enjoyment and exercise. When I attended high school back in the stone age, we even had an indoor pool, as did most of the high schools in the area. Somehow we have gotten away from swimming as a staple high school sport. I am sure cost is a factor, but so are football stadiums, baseball diamonds with stands, dugouts, basketball gymnasiums, etc. Would you please consider a pool to be included in either the new high school or an existing high school? Please ask any high school swim coach how difficult it is to practice at the YMCA or other private pools. I recently read that Springstead High School's swim team had to practice at the YMCA at 5 a.m. In addition to not being a school-connected facility, the Y is not a competitive pool because it lacks starting blocks, has a water temperature near or above 90 degrees (should be closer to 80) as well as no depth or diving board. We could, believe it or not, have "real" swim teams in Hernando County with your help. We do have the swimmers; all we need is a pool. We could, of course, just continue building multimillion-dollar high schools without noticing we do not have a pool, but wouldn't it be great to have our own pool facility for Hernando County swimmers?
Superintendent Tellone: It is alarming to me, as a taxpayer and retired finance and budget manager, that the recent Hernando County School budget fiasco was not recognized by our former superintendent, John Sanders, and the members of the School Board. Even our current budget officer, Carol MacLeod, apparently attempts to minimize the problem. While budgets are estimates of financial plans, they do represent the tax dollars assigned to provide education to an important asset -- our children. There should be monthly budget reports comparing actual expenditures produced with explanations of the major variances and then reviewed by the administration and the School Board. Basic budget systems exist that provide these comparisons by expenses as well as by cost centers (in this instance, individual schools). This is the very least you should do. You and the board are the stewards of $86-million of our taxes and you have an obligation as a prudent business person in the monitoring and use of these funds.
Superintendent Tellone: Congratulations on your appointment as our next superintendent of Hernando County schools. Coming through the ranks makes victory much sweeter. We all know nobody is perfect, but you can be as near perfect as can be. Your great concern will be the budget. There is a great amount of waste in our schools. Everything for our kids is grossly overdone. And must our students have everything at their fingertips? Or have we forgotten the basics that they must earn it to appreciate it?
Superintendent Tellone: Welcome, and may you have a long reign. It surely was time -- and past time -- for superintendent John Sanders to leave, and we are well rid of him. He came to the most indebted school district in the state, and helped to drive it further into debt. I hope you will be able to reverse the excesses that Sanders initiated. There are three things I have observed that could help. 1. Turn off at least half the lights at the schools at night. What a waste. Suncoast Elementary School is more brightly lit than Spring Hill Regional Hospital next door, a 24/7 facility. Ditto for Hernando High School. 2. Put the school buses at the facilities they serve, rather than driving to the bus corral at Spring Hill Drive and California Street. 3. Have all the schools use the Campbell Soup Labels for Education and General Mills Box Tops for Education, as well as any others. Now they are used only by the elementary schools. Further, take out the soda pop machines and Internet access ads. Our children should not be for sale to the highest bidder. Last, and really not least, we are with you, Dr. Tellone, in watching your back against the threat from the female members of the School Board. We wish you well.
Superintendent Tellone: I have taught seventh- and eighth-graders who do not know the multiplication tables. This is something I believe they should have committed to memory by the fourth grade. Please tell teachers to do all in their power to ensure that by the fourth grade all students have memorized the multiplication tables. I believe this will help when taking the FCAT and in future math courses as well. I also believe we must look more carefully at the Exceptional Student Education designation. I do not believe that undisciplined students and misbehaving students deserve this designation. Having taught many students with real disabilities, I have found that they are a pleasure to have in the classroom and I have never known one to be disruptive. These "pseudo" ESE students are nothing but disruptive and steal valuable education time from the students who truly want to learn.
Superintendent Tellone: I wish to congratulate you as the new superintendent of schools. I have one request; in the past, our veterans arranged special ceremonies at schools, at the request of the teachers, on outstanding action dates in U.S. history. These programs were the actual experiences of the men and women who fought in the wars. Many of the schoolchildren don't have the slightest clue about these actions. We teach them about Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, etc. We protect them from the real world with all these fairy tales. On Sept. 11 they had a wake-up call with the attack on Washington, D.C., and New York. Just 19 terrorists brought the mightiest nation to its knees. This is unacceptable to the many veterans and their families who gave all so we can live in freedom. Upon reading the Tampa Tribune, St. Petersburg Times and the Hernando Today letters to the editor, it's encouraging to hear from people on patriotic issues. I guess there has to be a catastrophe for these people to get involved in community programs. Today, it is almost impossible to buy an American flag. This should be an every-day problem. On Sept. 22 veterans for the MIA/POW had their third annual recognition day, which is usually held in the third week of September. It would be nice if we could get schoolchildren, teachers, parents and workers to support this program. For the past 25 years, all who attended these ceremonies are the veterans and their wives and friends. Some dates to remember: Jan. 27, 1973: Signing of the Vietnam peace accord. Feb. 15, 1898: Sinking of the USS Maine. May 1: Annual Loyalty Day. May 8, 1945: V.E. Day, German unconditional surrender signing. Third Saturday of May: Armed Forces Day. Last Monday in May: Memorial Day. June 6, 1944: D-day, Allied invasion of Europe. June 14: Flag Day. July 4: Independence Day. July 27, 1953: Signing of the Korean Armistice. Aug. 15, 1945: V.J. Day, Japan surrendered, ending World War II fighting September: Third Friday, POW/MIA Recognition Day. Sept. 11, 2001: War on America, bombing of the World Trade Center, N.Y., and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Nov. 11, 1918: Signing World War I Armistice. Dec. 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor attacked. Jan. 17, 1991: Operation Desert Storm launched in the Persian Gulf.
Superintendent Tellone: Just make our schools safer and do whatever it takes to keep another Columbine tragedy from happening here.
Superintendent Tellone: Wouldn't you ultimately be your husband's boss? In most companies, relatives cannot supervise each other. In the case of a husband and wife, usually one had to leave the company. How will this work in your case?
Superintendent Tellone: First, let me say that I am pleased our School Board finally gave you the job. From what I read, you are qualified for the position. We know you can't be knowledgeable about everything, so surround yourself with outstanding people in the field of construction and building maintenance. You are a seasoned educator. The one area where you should watch your back is budget. The previous superintendent apparently didn't do this and got in a situation where he didn't know what was going on. Keep on top of this with a thorough monthly report. I feel there are board members who would like to see you have problems; don't give them a chance to do so. The bottom line seems to be a big factor, so please demand to get current budget figures so you can be in control. Not everyone feels a woman can do an outstanding job. Prove to Hernando County you can. Regarding everyday problems with the schools, many River Country residents have been trying for years to get the school bus pickup and drop off areas changed. Our suggestion is to eliminate these stops on River Country Drive, especially at River Country Drive and Delaware Avenue. River Country Drive is the main road through our subdivision. From a safety standpoint, bus stops should not be made on this road. An alternate location could be the mailbox area on Chaucer, just south of River Country Drive. Delaware is a big loop around most of River Country; no one would have to walk very far to get there. If the stops were made on Delaware, it might even reduce the mileage, and thus fuel costs, for the buses. The transportation manager did visit River Country a few years ago and made a change, but not the problem area I mentioned earlier. This stop is at the bottom of a hill and is very dangerous. We would appreciate your consideration.
Superintendent Tellone: You should first initiate an independent audit of the entire Hernando County school system's annual budgets for the previous three years. You then should release the results publicly and bring to light all the facts of the school system's operations. The purpose for such an action would be to assess the merit and results of the dollars allocated by program or department, and to find out to whom the money is going, how it is spent and whether there is any waste or misuse of funds. It also would give the county an idea of what it has done in the past, and what and how it is spending its money in the present. Then, and only then, can the school system, the county, the superintendent and residents determine in what direction the school system's new budgets should go in the future. Another reason for conducting an independent audit is to expose any wrongdoing, fraud, misuse of funds, etc. An independent audit will reveal those employees and/or subcontractors who may be cheating the school system, the government and taxpayers. With this ammunition, I would hope you could then refer findings to those who have the authority to subpoena individuals to testify in a court of law, and to indict, convict and imprison those guilty of wrongdoing. Accountability should be a high priority for your administration. Finally, an independent audit would give you a clean slate to begin your tenure and enable the citizenry to hold you clearly accountable for your time on watch.
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