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Some schools still plan to hold their own competitions. Districtwide middle and high school contests will go on.
By KENT FISCHER
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 27, 2001
The annual elementary school science fair is kaput this year in Pasco, a victim of budget cuts.
This school year will be the first in at least a decade without the districtwide competition for elementary students. Last year's fair drew 246 entries from students who won preliminary competitions at their local schools.
Each elementary school has the option of organizing its own fair this school year, and many are doing just that. But this year, that's where the competition will end.
The district fair for middle and high school students will be held.
The reason for eliminating the elementary fair, officials say, is money.
In October, Superintendent John Long began trimming the district budget by about $3-million, Pasco's share of statewide cuts in education funding. One of Long's first moves was to institute a hiring freeze on administrative jobs. One of those jobs was the district's science supervisor, which has been vacant for months.
One of the science supervisor's responsibilities is to coordinate the county science fair. But without somebody in that job and with nobody capable of taking on the hundreds of hours necessary to organize the elementary fair, district officials decided to simply cancel the event this year.
Jay Feliciani, the district's former science coordinator, has volunteered to organize the fair for middle and high school students, even though he took a new job with the district last year.
"It's really a labor of love, and it's something that you would like to see available for the kids," Feliciani said Monday. "It's a big coordinating job, though, and it's tough during this budget year."
The district spent $23,200 on science fairs last school year, which primarily paid for transportation, awards and cleanup costs. Only a few thousand dollars of that amount paid for the elementary competition, Feliciani said.
The cancellation comes as the state prepares to unveil a new standardized science test that it plans to incorporate into its school grading program. Also, participation in science fairs districtwide has more than doubled in the past 10 years.
Middle and high school students who compete at the district and state science fairs can win scholarships, internships and other prizes. Although the stakes aren't as high for elementary students, some with particularly innovative projects have won some measure of acclaim. In 1998, a student from Mittye P. Locke Elementary School appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno after his double-lidded peanut butter jar caught the eye of scouts from the Nickelodeon television network.
"The kids thought it was fun and they liked to be recognized for a job well done," Feliciani sad. "It's also a good complement to the curriculum."
The fair could be back next year, administrators said.
-- Kent Fischer covers education in Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. His e-mail address is kfischer@sptimes.com.