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After two years of organizing around one school, the two mothers vow to remain friends but will no longer have children at the same elementary.
By MELANIE AVE
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 19, 2000
TAMPA PALMS -- They are community-minded mothers who spent nearly two years and hundreds of hours trying to persuade the school district to do something different.
But last week, the Hillsborough County School Board smashed the hopes of Terry Wolford and Lynn Gruber, ending their spirited quest to keep Tampa Palms united around one elementary school.
Some called them hard-working.
Some, emotional.
Others, loud-mouthed and aggressive.
Whether you agree with their grass-roots efforts or not, one thing is clear in the aftermath of the district's decision: The campaign, with Wolford and Gruber at the helm, to create two campuses of Tampa Palms Elementary School was zealous -- and unusual.
Even some of their opponents and school administrators were impressed.
"It certainly showed a lot of dedication and commitment," said Cathy Valdes, area director with Hillsborough County Schools. "I just hope now we can funnel that energy into the next issue, that is opening a new school."
On Tuesday, the School Board refused to accept the controversial "split-grade" proposal. Instead of having one school spread across two campuses, as Wolford and Gruber wished, they agreed to the traditional: two schools and two campuses. Next fall, children living in western Tampa Palms will attend the new Lawton Chiles Elementary. And children living in eastern Tampa Palms will attend the existing school.
Now the defeated Wolford and Gruber, former neighbors whose children will attend schools on opposite sides of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard next year, are trying to pick up the pieces.
Gruber said she cried for two hours after the School Board made its unanimous decision. "I feel so discouraged," said the self-employed software designer.
Married with three children, she is moving to the west side of Bruce B. Downs to a larger house where her in-laws also can live. She resolves that "whatever I do now is going to make a difference. Without a doubt."
Wolford, meanwhile, is looking to the next challenge, possibly creating a charter school.
She feels sad for the families who have given so much time and money to the high-achieving Tampa Palms Elementary and now have to move on to a new, unproven school next year.
"That school is the heart of the community for school-age families," said Wolford, a mother of two who lives on the east side of Bruce B. Downs. "It's almost like they pulled the heart apart and said, "Go your separate ways.' "
Wolford and Gruber learned about split-grade schools about two years ago from another Tampa Palms parent who was familiar with the format, used elsewhere around the country.
"We thought of it as a community need," said Wolford, a stay-at-home mother and former president of the Tampa Palms PTA.
They latched onto the concept, seeing it as a way to keep their beloved school intact in a place Wolford refers to as a "little teeny-weeny town."
So she, Gruber and other concerned parents organized a group called One Community, One School.
"When we started doing research we found it was not only a good way to keep the community united, but it could be academically better as well," Wolford said. "That was just the icing on the cake."
They circulated petitions and surveys. Organized meetings. Researched on the Internet. Created a Web site. Raised about $4,000. Flew in a consultant. Developed a detailed traffic plan. And blanketed school officials with e-mails, reports and studies.
They even stood outside Clark Elementary School, putting their propaganda in the hands of children getting on school buses.
Throughout the endeavor, critics said One Community, One School was backed by the interest of real estate agents, who often used Tampa Palms Elementary as a selling point.
Wolford and Gruber denied this allegation, but noted some individuals who sell real estate gave to their cause.
By the time the campaign ended, Wolford estimated that One Community, One School had at least 300 solid supporters.
"They were the leaders, the true heart and soul of the whole effort," said parent Michelle Fountain. "The rest of us were just foot soldiers."
Even after the district issued a report showing safety and transportation problems and seemed to be leaning toward two separate schools, Wolford and Gruber did not give up.
They timed how long it would take for the buses to cross the street, and how long it would take children to get on and off the buses. They came up with their own detailed transportation plan and submitted it to the school district.
Patti Lopez, one of their critics, sent an e-mail to the district, calling the transportation proposal "vague at best, although I have to say they are a determined group."
Gruber and Wolford met about five years ago when Gruber was helping raise money for a computer lab at Tampa Palms. The lab, worth more than $100,000, was funded by donations and a match from IBM, where Wolford's husband works.
Wolford became involved at the school when her 11-year-old son Max, now at Benito Middle School, started kindergarten there. Her daughter Sarah is in second grade at Tampa Palms.
She agreed to chair the school's carnival. After its success, she was asked to become PTA president.
Gruber began volunteering when her oldest child, now a sophomore at Wharton High, started school there. She has two children, Kelly and Adam, at Tampa Palms.
Her family has given numerous gifts to the school, including copiers, large-screen televisions and books, using matching grants from her husband's company, Time Warner.
Both women said the One Community, One School effort took precious time away from other activities, including their families.
It is something Gruber now regrets.
"My children would come home from school and I'd be like, "Just a minute. Just a minute,' " said Gruber, who has dark, sleek hair and a quiet demeanor. "And then, all of a sudden, it's two hours later. I gave up all this time I could have had with my children.
"How do you feel good about that?"
Wolford said she would do it all over again.
Gruber can't say if she would, the stinging defeat clouding her view.
The two have vowed to remain friends, even if their campaign failed, even if their children are at different schools.
"It's like an amicable divorce, and you know how hard that is," said Wolford, petite with large eyes and a rippling laugh. "It's almost like getting divorced and walking out the door with just a suitcase."
Then there is talk of alternatives, perhaps the charter school.
"We still hope for the future," Wolford said. "We still think there's a glimmer of hope."
- Melanie Ave can be reached at (813) 226-3473 or melanie@sptimes.com.