Questions, answers about Pinellas cuts, school closings

Updated 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12

Have a suggestion for cutting the Pinellas schools budget? Join the conversation.

(See Useful Links below)

Q: What is happening?
A: Faced with declining enrollment and a projected budget shortfall of $63-million to $68-million for the 2009-10 fiscal year, the Pinellas School Board has approved several major changes that will save money but affect thousands of families. Effective next year, the district has:
* Closed five elementary schools -- Gulf Beaches in St. Pete Beach; Kings Highway and North Ward in Clearwater; Rio Vista in St. Petersburg; and Palm Harbor Elementary.
* Merged four middle schools into two. Southside and Coachman fundamental middle schools will move to larger facilities. Southside will be "consolidated" with Madeira Beach Middle School and Coachman with Kennedy Middle. The Madeira campus will be a K-8 fundamental school that includes Madeira Beach Elementary.
* Revoked bus service for about 17,000 elementary students who don't attend their zoned schools.
* Redrawn middle school zones as Kennedy and Madeira Beach will cease to be zoned schools. The change will have a domino effect across the county, altering middle school options for hundreds of students entering sixth grade next year.
* Redrawn the school zone map for elementary schools to account for the closings.

Q: Is this final?
A: Yes. School Board members voted Tuesday, Jan. 13, to close the elementary schools, merge the middle schools and revoke busing for non-zone students. They also approved a new zone map for middle schools. The board approved a new elementary zone map on Feb. 10.

Q: Why the rush?
A: The district says it needed to make the changes in time for the 2009-10 application period for special programs such as magnet and fundamental schools. The application period, which kicks off the student assignment process, began Jan. 26 and ends Feb. 16. The budget cutting process could have started earlier, but the previous School Board decided it was best for the newly elected board to make key decisions on the new budget. The new board was elected Nov. 4 and was not seated until Nov. 18. Two hours after they were sworn in, Superintendent Julie Janssen proposed the school closings and other measures.

Q: Why is the district redrawing zones? Isn't that disruptive?
A: It is, but the district says it has to be done to account for the school closings. Parents have implored the board for a school system that offers more stability. Many have said all the changes prevent them from knowing where their kids were going to go to school year to year. But district officials say they can offer no guarantees in an era when declining enrollment and state budget cuts will force the district to make periodic adjustments.

Q: Why is the district revoking bus service for some students?
A: When the board devised a new system of zoned schools last year, replacing the old choice system, it allowed thousands of students to finish out at their old choice schools. These so-called "nonzone" or "grandfathered" students also got bus service, and their siblings could join them when it came time for them to go to school. A year later, amid a horrible financial climate, those arrangements have been deemed unaffordable. Board members initially considered revoking grandfathering for all nonzone elementary students and forcing them into their zoned schools to save money on busing. But after hundreds of parent complaints, they agreed to a compromise: Nonzone elementary students - about 17,000 in all - could remain in their schools but the district no longer will provide bus service.

Q: Why is the district only revoking busing for elementary school kids? Why don't they do it for middle and high school students too?
A: The main reason is that the bulk of the savings are in elementary schools, which have about 17,000 nonzone students compared to 3,900 in middle schools and 6,700 in high schools. Also, students are in elementary school longer than the other levels, which translates to more costs. The board decided to retain grandfathering at middle schools because it won't be an issue after next year when the last class of grandfathered students cycles into high school. As for high schools, board members were reluctant to disrupt grandfathered students who had formed strong ties to their schools through sports teams, clubs and other activities. Not all secondary school students are untouched, however. On Jan. 13, 2009, the board voted to provide only arterial bus service for high school students not attending their zoned schools. The same will hold true for students at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School and Osceola Fundamental High School.

Q: How do all these changes save money?
A: The district says it will save $4.26-million in operating costs by closing the five elementaries and $1.95-million by merging the four middle schools. It also will save about $7-million in busing costs by revoking transportation to grandfathered students. That's a total of about $13-million - just a start toward the total amount that needs to be cut.

Q: Is the district looking at other places to cut besides closing schools?
A: Yes. Superintendent Julie Janssen is looking at cuts in several areas. Among them: across-the-board cuts in individual schools, a more affordable health plan for district employees, furloughs for district employees, reductions in leased portable classrooms, cuts in the number of drivers and supervisors in the transportation department, tightening constructon procedures and reducing high school sports programs.

Q: All but one of the seven schools being closed or merged received A grades from the state. Why would the district close these schools?
A: District officials say the budget shortfall and declining enrollment have put them in the position of having to close schools using factors that they say outweigh a school's grade. Those factors include the age and size of the school, the per-student cost to operate the school, the projected costs to maintain the school and the proximity of empty seats that could accommodate students from closed schools. District officials also argue that the students who contributed to the A grade at their soon-to-be-closed school will do the same for their new school.

Q: Why is the district dealing with declining enrollment by closing schools? Why not just reduce the number of portable classrooms?
A: In fact, the district is getting rid of 319 of its 894 portables next year and will cut more as enrollment continues to drop. Portables help the district adjust school capacities based on where families with children live in Pinellas County. The district's enrollment is declining, but the losses of students are scattered across the county so it's difficult to simply remove portables in big clusters. The class size amendment, with its strict limits on how many children can be in a classroom, also limits the district's flexibility on portables.

Q: These closings and re-zonings create uncertainty for families. Will it all end after this year?
A: Probably not. District officials now say that declining enrollment will prompt several re-zonings in the next few years. The district says it has lost 10,000 students since 2003 and plans to lose an additional 10,000 by 2013. As that happens, the district says it will be forced to "right size" by closing more schools, which leads to zones having to be redrawn. At some point, the district says it may have to look at closing a high school.

Q: How will the proposed middle school mergers work?
A: Generally, students at Coachman Fundamental Middle will end up at Kennedy Middle. Students at Southside Fundamental Middle will be asked to indicate whether they want to be enrolled at Madeira Beach Middle or Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle, which is closer for many Southside families. As of this writing (Feb. 12, 2009) it is unclear whether Marshall has enough space for all Southside students who will want to go there. The district is surveying Southside families to get an idea where they want to go, and will proceed from there. Any student who didn't get in at Marshall would have a seat at Madeira. Initially, the staffs at Coachman and Southside will be assigned to their respective receiving schools, and the staffs at the receiving schools will stay put until it is clear how many students the newly "consolidated" schools will have. If there are more teachers and support staff than are needed at a school, the new principals will conduct interviews and select a staff. Those not selected could transfer to other schools using rules set out in union contracts. For each merger, committees composed of parents, teachers, administrators and other interested parties will decide other issues, such as names and operational details for the new schools. Teachers will likely fare better than support staff such as plant operators and cafeteria workers. That's because the district needs as many teachers as it can get to comply with the class size amendment. The district says it will try to find other jobs for support staff, but the prospects are not as good.

Q: How will my middle school student be affected by this plan?
A: Some middle school students have been rezoned to different schools. That's because the Coachman/Kennedy and Southside/Madeira Beach "consolidations" triggered a redrawing of the middle school boundaries across the county. For example, some students slated to attend sixth grade at Madeira Beach Middle next year were rezoned to Azalea Middle, Osceola Middle or Seminole Middle, depending on where they live. The district created space at those schools by shifting the boundaries in places to match kids with empty seats. So, some kids in the Azalea zone will end up next year in the John Hopkins and Tyrone middle school zones. Similarly, some kids in the current Osceola zone have been reassigned to Largo and Pinellas Park middle schools. In the northern end of the county, the Coachman/Kennedy merger triggered a similar chain reaction of boundary line changes. Students have the option of accepting the new assignment or staying in their current school. To see the zone maps, consult Useful Links below.


Useful Links:

New middle school zone map, approved Jan. 13, 2009

New elementary school zone map, approved Feb. 10, 2009

NOTE: Can't tell what your school is from the zone map? Use the district's new Zoned School Locator and type in your address. Still confused? Call the student assignment office at (727) 588-6210.

Jan. 13, 2009, power point given to School Board.

Video of the School Board's Dec. 18, 2008, workshop.

Dec. 18, 2008, power point given to School Board.

Searchable video of the School Board's Dec. 9 public hearing. (Go to item 2 under "Nonconsent" portion of the agenda.)

Dec. 9 power point given to School Board.

Latest budget update, distributed Friday, Dec. 6.

Dec. 2 power point given to School Board.

Nov. 18 power point presentation given to School Board.

Two recent memos describing the district's financial situation. One is dated Oct. 22, the other Nov. 12.

A summary of this year's budget.

A comparison of how Pinellas stacks up to other large Florida counties in several spending categories (takes awhile to download)

Comments

I guess I should proof read before I sent my staement (smile).
Corrections:
of of should not be in the sentence

Can someone explain to me how the NAACP put forth this proposal regarding SS Fundamental moving to TM Fundamental. OK I will answer my own question its obvious that Ray Tampa or someone he knows personally has an invested interest at SS fundamental, why elese would he/NCAAP think this would be a good idea, concerning that TM reputation is built on no discrimation. So lets see they will fight this cause and as soon as of of the schools on the southside are falling below grade level they will scream our kids are being treated unfairly. Gotcha when its personal its ok to discrimate.

[tm parent]

Osceola High has buses and they are fundamental. I'm sure they aren't talking about taking them away next year when the WHOLE school will be fundamental (the only grade missing is 12th). It clearly isn't fair for SS parents/students/staff/admin to get special treatment for their school when it closes. Other schools around the county close yearly and they have to go "wherever there are spots open" and don't get to stay "intact." It just doesn't make sense!

[BBMOM]

Jill - If busing verses non busing is what you base a true Fundamental school on, then your criteria is not high enough for me. When Thurgood started they were a Zone A fundamental school. That is why they provided transportation. It's possible they may take it away from us next year. But that won't make us anymore a fundamental school than we are right now. And personally I don't care if we are treated as a fundamental school or not, we know we are and that is all that matters at this point.

I think this blog is finally moving in the right direction. At least three comprehensive, intelligent posts were written in the last few hours.
Remember it's not YOUR school or MY school. It's not about the staff. (This is in regards to the fundamental ms fiasco). It's about the fundamental children who deserve a school that they can ALL be proud to be a part of. Good night. Peace.

[Jill]

4:16, if Thurgood wants to be treated as a fundamental school then the school board needs to STOP busing students there just to fill seats! That would save money and open more enrollment to those who want to go there. Then maybe they would be treated and thought of as a true county wide fundamental program.

Hopeful - I like you and appreciate your ability to see the big picture. Great post!

5:06 - I think I will forward it to the board, but only after I convert into a cute analogy to show off my clever writing skills I acquired in "private" school.

[Someone Caught Up in This]

I have seen many blog and e-mail comments made in regard to the suggested Fundamental MS changes.

Let me say that I'm disappointed by each one of the negative comments made whatever MS affiliation you have.

In a perfect scenario, I think each of the school communities would rather stay in their own buildings and work as usual. Each school, Coachman, Kennedy, Madeira Beach, Southside and Thurgood, offers there own unique programs with successes in their own rights.

What I think many are losing sight of is that the Board is going to make a change, like it or not. The budget situation is that bad. Coachman will end up at Kennedy and Southside will end up at either Madeira or Thurgood.

At some point, the perverbial hatchet must be buried and we all will need to make the best of an imperfect situation.

Will people hold grudges after the recommendation is passed? Unfortunately, I'm sure some will.

I would encourage you not to let ignorance about these various programs cause hateful and divisive feelings and comments. Listen to each other and find the commonalities and work with what you've got. You may find yourself working directly with the people you are demeaning and discouraging.

I hope that we can get past this negativity and really start working on solutions to our problems rather than creating more.

[Hopeful Parent]

I think Thurgood is cutting edge for middle school-- what with the Mandarin Chinese program and the gifted strands and the thought to make it an IB-focused middle school for the kids who desire that option in high school, plus the ESE and ESOL kids and the fundamental philosophy. That is challenging but is truly DIVERSE in a way that the two cookie cutter fundamentals are not -- and in a way that prepares kids for college (with the 4x4 which is more similar to a college schedule) and the IB focus which will help in the new global economy and exposure to ALL peoples and cultures. My kids grew up in a bilingual home as English is our family's second language and I have noted there are few non-native English speakers in fundamental programs. The more I learn about Thurgood's programs the more impressed I am. Instead of "fundamental lite" I would call it "Fundamental Plus". My kids are fundamental elementary kids not yet ready for middle school and I will definitely look into this school when they get to that stage. It sounds like the most cutting edge thing PCSB has going right now. It is good they are expanding the fundamental program with the high school and creating more seats as well as developing other choices within the fundamental model itself. Yes there are growing pains and challenging with no funds but the statistics show the school improving every year. Its star is rising. However it would also be a mistake I think to not utilize the experienced faculty and staff and administrators at Southside and Coachman as the program expands. I hope that spaces can be found for those who wish to be part of the expansion and view it as an opportunity rather than a liability. Si se puede.

4:16 send your post to the SB so they can see your arguments.

Thanks. I did in fact send it to the SB, but if you want to forward it again that would be fine. Thanks you!

4:16, your comments are right on point.

Well if you knew all of this maybe you all should have fought for your rightfull claim to TM years ago, but since you did'nt you can go over to MB school and have a hostile take over at that school.And until the SB turns our school into a program for juvenile deliquents we will fight to keep TM intact for our kids. Good luck with moving your program. Happy Holidays!

[BBMOM]

2:58 pm - Excellent post

Did you actually send this to the SB members? If not would it be alright if I sent it to them. I would like them to have this in their hands before the workshop on Thursday.

2:58pm - You make some excellent points. I can certainly see how a deep animosity has been created between TM and SS. It's a shame. Many SS parents and students have made comments on this board that just aren't nice about TM. On the other hand you also need to see things from our point of view.
When TM was built our board back then should have made a clear statement that in the school year 200?-200? SFMS WILL move into that building thus creating more seats PERIOD. Instead it sat there with a fundamental sign on it, yet was not considered a county wide Fundamental school. I used to ride by it all the time and never quite knew why it had a fundamental sign, because they didn't follow fundamental guidelines as a countywide program. This is where the fundamental light attitude came from. Our wishy washy school board didn't seem even back then to know how to move SS into that school. Now Pasadena, Lakeview and Bay Vista have been able to merge their elementary student bodies together seamlessly for years. So it's not like we think the kids at our respective schools are too good to mingle with outsiders from another.
TM just recently (2yrs?)became county wide yet the busing remained and even as of late last year questions couldn't be answered by staff at one of the tours. These were vital questions such as: will busing be here next year, 6 or 7 periods or 4x4 schedule, will the late start time continue??? Parents made the choice that felt right and that was to stay with a program that we felt comfortable with. A program that many of our older children went through with great success. Obviously we made the wrong decision, but hindsight is 20/20. You see after TM was in operation for several years, teachers were in place, neighborhood kids were there and the rumors were abundant that it didn't compare to SFMS at any level. To say that a child that begins a fundamental program in 7th grade is the same as a child reared in a fundamental elementary is just wrong. We've already dealt with the trials and tribulations of watching kids leave our school because fundamental wasn't a good fit for them. BV, Pasadena and Lakeview students know exactly what is expected. That's how SFMS can be so successful. I have no doubt that TM will be THE model school once SS is gone. It's a shame all fundamental parents can't see the big picture. This squabble has turned fundamental into a dirty word. If the SB built TM with the intentions of moving SS into it they should have made that crystal clear years ago before moving others into it. They should have put the padlock on the door way back when.
Since public schools do belong to the tax payers but governed by the school board they can in the future close your program and turn it into a tech school for juvenile delinquents and you too can move your program. Happy Holidays.

Pinellas County School Board Members:

At this time I just would like to present this scenario. This Scenario is to demonstrate how ridiculous the notion that we here, at Thurgood Marshall would just hand over our school to Southside Fundamental. We too love our Principle, our staff and teachers here at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental. Our kids love their school and are well adjusted. Not long ago, an offered was extended to SS Fundamental for the use of our top floor last year. It was declined by SS Fundamental because they wanted to remain at their “own” school. We respected the decline and decided that we could allow more students into our school since we had this additional section that was available *AT THAT TIME!* Well guess what, we have expanded and we are now using the top floor and the offer is now off the table.

Below is the scenario:

Mary (also known as SS Fundamental), was informed by the bank (also know as the Pinellas County School Board) that they would soon be foreclosing on her home (also known as SS Fundamental), but there is a house (known as Thurgood Marshall), that she and her family could move into, Mary (known as SS Fundamental), decline the offer and instead decided to stay in her home. A year past, and the bank (known as the Pinellas County School Board), informed Mary (known as SS Fundamental), that the foreclosure is being processed and a pad lock would be put on the door. In the meantime the vacant home (known as the top floor of Thurgood Marshall) is now occupied, but now Mary (known as SS Fundamental), has decided that she would indeed like to move her family in the home.

*Questions:*

1. What are Mary’s legal privileges for moving into the home that is now being occupied by another family? Answer –*NONE*

2. What are Southside Fundamental’s legal recourses pertaining to Thurgood Marshall?

Answer – *NONE*

3. What are Southside Fundamental options? 1). Go to Madeira Beach (offered by the Pinellas School Board 2). Close to home schools. 3). Home school your child.

*THESE ARE YOUR OPTIONS- FINAL OFFER!*

Southside Fundamental you fought a good fight but this school has been on the chopping block for years. Our hearts go out to your kids, staff, teachers and Principle. But make no mistake, as hard as you fought to keep Southside Fundamental open, we will fight even harder to keep every child, teacher and staff member and by all means our Principle right here at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental. We went through the same process of applying to get our kids at Thurgood Marshall as you did to get your child at Southside Fundamental, and to think that you along with anyone at the NAACP can just say your kids, teachers, staff and Principle deserve any type of preferential treatment is just unfair and utterly ridiculous. What’s funny is you all think and act as though SS Fundamental is a private school, “*NEWS ALERT”, *SS Fundamental is a public school with tax payer dollars paying for your child to go to school, if you want the luxury of having things your way, do what I did, I sent my child to private school from 3years old to 5^th grade.

[Tom Tobin, St. Petersburg Times]

Rebekah:
We’ve asked for that salary information and expect to get it soon. The top leadership of the district – assistants, associates, deputy superintendents and others – is closer to 16 or 17 people. The district has budgeted $3.8-million this year to cover “general administration,” which includes many of the employees you’re asking about. That’s down from $4.7-million last year, a decline of about 18 percent.

[Rebekah]

Is anyone aware that the superintendent of Pinellas County has no less than 10 deputies and assistants? How much do they make, combined?

Wow

[BBMOM]

9:00 PM

I was feeling a little sympathy for a minute there. And then again a SS parent has told us how wonderful they are. You have a great school score and that is it. School grades mean nothing to me. The way the schools are graded is a bunch of crap. being as you have no ESE students to speak of or any ESOL students, than as far as I'm concerned we are talking apples and oranges. Other schools, including TM have to count the test scores for both of those classes of students. So since TM is a B school with grades on ESE and ESOL counting, I think maybe we are better than you. When SS lets some of the lower preforming students in their school and lets them take the FCAT and include their scores, then we'll see how wonderful your "family" is.

BBMOM,

Many SS students have siblings at Lakeview or Bay Vista so we are driving 30 minutes each way to get our students to Madeira Beach. Not very fair of the SB to ask us to do this considering we are the best school in the county.

[Julia]

Thanks Tom! It sounds like they need both. This budget thing sure is doing some crazy things. I really don't envy the SB right now.

[Tom Tobin, St. Petersburg Times]

Julia:
In answer to your 11:22 post: The only plan officially on the table now is to move Southside to Madeira Beach Middle. As before, that plan still includes turning Madeira Beach Elementary into a fundamental school. As before, Southside students would get the option of going to Madeira or Thurgood Marshall. What’s new is that the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP has proposed merging Southside and Thurgood Marshall, but that is only a suggestion. Several school board members have expressed interest in knowing more about the idea, but the numbers don’t look promising for a wholesale merger of the two schools, as BBMOM alluded to. Marshall’s enrollment is about 750 this year and it has a capacity of about 950.

[BBMOM]

Sorry guys but there is not enough room at TM for both existing 6th and 7th grade classes from SS & TM. If we did that we would have no room for incoming 6th graders. And Julia just to clarify, SS wants to move in and take over. Have space for all their students staff and administration and get rid of ours. They want the TM building not the school. And they wouldn't be driving 30 minutes each way unless they live next door to SS which most of them don't. Pay the SB to shuttle your students to MB.

[Julia]

If you read my post, I said the merger should go through. TM and SS should merge. But, they should also turn Madeira into a fundamental so there are more seats for everyone. Hope that makes sense! Then let the SS parents choose which one they want. That way, people could choose based on which school was closer, thus reducing drive times:) My hunch is most current SS students would choose TM as it is more established, so the SS would largely stay intact.

Julia,

For one minute put yourself in the shoes of the students and families at Southside. The school board has asked them to drive 30 minutes each way to get their children to school. If the board is requiring Southside close then it makes sense for them to move to Thurgood as one cohesive unit.

[Julia]

I am so confused. Now they are talking about merging SS w/ TM? Does that mean that Madeira will not be turned into a fundamental? Also, earlier it was said that Madeira Elementary would be turned into a fundamental. Has that also been dropped? Will TM lose its bus due to budget? I think both the merger and opening Madeira is the way to go. We need more fundamental seats in elementary and middle school so that wait lists can be diminished. I know many parents in traditional school that are unhappy w/ the grandfathering or possible new zoning. The demand will only skyrocket for fundamental seats. Every parent I know in traditional schools is planning on applying to all fundamentals next year.

[School teacher for 40 years]

Lengthen the school day so that students can learn more each day at school and do less homework. Kids should have time to do homework at school. Use buildings wisely by having teachers work different "shifts". Some students do better if they go to school from 10-6 than 7-2. They could all be in the same school, instead of empty classrooms in the afternoons, and kids showing up for first period still needing sleep.
Expand the school media centers, and hire more media specialists to help kids with homework at school after class hours. Eliminate school buses except for those who receive free or reduced lunch. If they don't need a free lunch, why do they need a free ride? Some kids on school buses have SUVs parked at home.
Give kids a good discount on riding the city bus so that we are not wasting money on fuel and on hiring drivers who often do not perform well anyway. Let the parents pick the kids up after work, and the kids can stay in the media centers and do their homework or go join a sports team, a club or an arts program. Increase sub pay so that students always have a teacher and classes do not have to be combined. Include a lunch hour in every school so students can stay from 8am to 6pm without going hungry.
Make educaton mandatory until age 21 if they don't graduate. Give all students in high school the block program, so they can take eight or more credits per year and graduate early when applicable, or stay and retake classes if they are low test scorers.
Offer GED classes, Even Start and Head Start in buildings now scheduled to close, and use the old schools as community centers.

[Tom Tobin, St. Petersburg Times]

Readers - Many of you have been asking about other budget cuts that may be in store. See the revised Q&A (above) for some of the district's early thinking on that topic.

[Tom Tobin, St. Petersburg Times]

BBMOM - The school board will turn to start times after it gets this current round of budget cuts sorted out. Whether they go through with it depends on how much the district can reduce its busing obligation.

Thank you Julia for your level headedness on all of your comments. People need to stop freaking out!

Thank you Julia for your level headedness in all of your comments. People need to stop freaking out!

[Julia]

In three years (one complete cycle of middle school) Madeira will become a "true fundamental" that is directly fed from fundamental elementaries. There will be a few bumps the first year or two and then things will straighten out. Just like Osceola and Bay Vista went through this. I am sure a lot of the traditional Madeira students will thrive in the fundamental environment as well!! Think ++ people! Thurgood sounds like great option as well. It too will only continue to reach greater heights w/ its expanded gifted programs!

As for fundamentals "taking over" I have counted about 80 elementaries, only 5 will be fundamentals. There are around 25 middle schools and 3 will be fundamental. Around 17 high schools, one is a fundamental.

[BBMOM''s Right!!]

I agree! SSFMS pick their students and de-select them to improve their scores. Next year will be VERY interesting to see the outcome! As BBMOM said, if you are not impressed with the other fundamental middles out there, please don't apply...it's just your kid who is missing out on the amazing opportunities!

[BBMOM]

Tom/Jeff - Was anything mentioned about the ESE & ESOL students. Will they stay at their schools or go to a closer school to their homes?

Also was anything mentioned on new start times for the schools since busing will not be as it is today?

Thanks.

Sorry I put this under the wrong topic earlier.

[BBMOM]

For those of you from SSMS who don't believe Thurgood Fundamental is good enough for you, please don't apply!!! We don't want you with your negative attitudes. You probably couldn't handle a 4x4 schedule anyway.

Thanks I feel better now.

[parent]

Just wait until SSFMS blends with Maderia Beach kids..and they are not "true" fundamental students. They will have to change them into that and I guarantee the "prestige" of SSFMS will change. They will actually have NEIGHBORHOOD kids that they will have to try to change into fundamental students!! Good luck with that. We can't wait to see the statistics then!

Stop all the talk of A schools. There are lots of good schools in Pinellas County, maybe some of the great teachers will end up in a different school and make a difference there. These schools should have been closed last year and the busing should have been stopped as well. The board has to make extraordinay decisions because of the budget. Over the last few years plant operations, maintenance and clerical support have been cut drastically there is nothing left in those areas to cut. It was bound to come to this. It is necessary to close schools and layoff teachers, administrators and other management. They are the last groups untouched by the ongoing budget crisis. These changes are going to happen. If you want to do something productive contact your government officials now and keep on them until they do something. If our elected officials don't do something to stop what is happening to our schools we will see more schools closing. Instead of typing here send an email to the legislature and demand immediate relief for our schools!!! I'm off to do that myself again right now!!!!

[Retired Teacher]

I agree that A schools kick out students that may bring down a school's FCAT scores whether intentionally or not. If Kennedy closes where will all the north county A schools send their B and lower FCAT students next January? Oops no one thought of that?

I know these are scary times but teachers lets respect each other. Every school A, B, C ... has its great teachers and its not so great ones. No school's staff is better or worse. We are just doing the best we can with what we have.

[iteachyourkids]

I grew up in New Orleans, La. Our schools weren't nearly as nice as the oldest school in Pinellas County. I went to my neighborhood school, not a far distance from the Magnolia Housing Projects. Listening to you [parents] complain is entertainment... I hate to sound harsh, but I have to be honest.

"A" schools aren't "A" schools just because of "A" teachers. "A" schools are "A" schools because there are "A" students with "A" parents that care for them, discipline them, and make sure they do their homework.

We are in a serious time when EVERYONE is being affected by looming financial crises. Why would you [parents] believe that this would happen to all companies and not reach education?

Tom. I understand there are still a lot of unknowns as this matter unfolds, thank you for providing us with the information that you do have.

[Kim]

The school board last year listened to the community and VOTED "YES" TO GRANDFATHERING students to stay in there schools. How disappointing here we go again with a new board. The solution is simple continue to GRANDFATHER the students that want to stay at there school and provide there own transportation!!Does the SB contract out there fuel a year out? Fuel is half the price it was last year wouldn't they save a lot of money doing that? I hope the school boards listen's to the community and does the right thing.We having been jumping hoops for 6 years since choice started. We we're told back then our kids would stay at there current school until they we're ready to move up to the middle school. I quess the SB can make things up as they go along.

[PH Mom]

Why not cut out the duplicate ordering of books for schools. Kids don't need one set for home and one for school. Just doing the middle schools would save a bundle. I don't think Pinellas county is serious about spending frugally.

[Tim]

What are the odds of having to change schools if we live close to our "neighborhood" school ?? we drop our kids off every morning , no busing involved ...

[Tom]

Wonderful. Lets just close all the schools, close all the movie theatres, and shopping centers, stop the busses,let the Rays leave town and admit what we are --- a sorry backwater town. Personally I can't wait to leave.

[KJ]

Isn't this budget deficit happening a little too conveniently, just as all the big name companies are asking for a "bail-out"? Who is to blame for their mismanagemnt of money, and who is to blame for Pinellas County School Boards failure to manage their money? Is it the children, who's lives you are going to disrupt? No, it's those "powers that be" the powers that mismanage the county's money.

[Al-Clearwater]

They sat there Tuesday night like a row of grinning bobbleheads for four hours listening to some pretty compelling arguments not to close the schools, then voted UNANIMOUSLY to do what the administration told them they "had to do." Balderdash. They are closing A-rated schools. This sends the wrong message to schools that aren't A-rated: "Work diligently, earn an A for the next five years, and you too will be on the chopping block." Meanwhile, the administration is top-heavy with bureaucrats and the bus system sucks money out of the budget. To the person who said he didn't care because he has no kids in the school system, you'd better care, because some of them will be taking care of you in the nursing home.

[Jeff]

You all wanted that big tax cut Admendment 1 now live with it. We all saved BIG $$$$$ on our taxes and now you pay the price. What a joke you were lied to again by the Republican party and you bought it. Enjoy the couple hundred $$$"s and we can now become the 51st state in Education. I Voted no. Vote No on any further tax cuts in our state. Just say NO!

[sue]

Audits are too expensive. No new textbook adoptions for several years would save lot of money. Throwing out perfectly good textbooks is a waste. (If they can break promises to parents, they can break promises to publishing companies.)

[Richard Bruce]

Issue vouchers so the parents to select their childrens' school.

[Kate]

When wanting what is best for the kids, why would the board move grandfathered kids who are NOT using busing?

The only Win - Win is allowing grandfathered kids to stay provided they drive themselves.