Live chat: Ask Rep. John Legg your questions at 3 p.m. Wednesday

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Back-to-school chat: Join us at noon today

The final countdown is here: Students have less than two weeks to enjoy the summer, and teachers have even fewer days before they return to the classroom (most get back to school next week.) As we gear up for the new school year at the Gradebook, we'd like to chat with our readers -- parents, teachers, administrators and students, too -- about the new year.

We'd like to have a lively chat about issues you think will be hot topics in Tampa Bay area schools this year. We'll take your questions at noon today.

Feel free to post any questions now in the comments area below.

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Comments vs. content

When talking to school board members from across Florida the other day, I heard many gripes that blogs, including ours, weaken our content by allowing untrue reader comments to remain published as if they were true. They also didn't like the hateful things that many readers say.

Hillsborough board member Jennifer Faliero, who attended, later sent me an e-mail that said, in part:

"Two suggestions; the St. Pete Times establish policies governing the use of unregistered bloggers and force people to register and implement an approval process for live comments to be reviewed before going live. This can be done at home by a staffer for round-the-clock monitoring.

"The second involves you and taking a more active role in removing content you otherwise would not print."

Faliero also wrote that some elected officials would be pushing for better laws regarding blog oversight.

"This is a policy issue which will spark lively debate; our private lives and futures are at stake and people are just fed up with the horrible things being sent out over the Net from reputable companies giving discontents a platform."

Valid point? Let's hear it, all you commenters.

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Let us help you

Have a burning question about education that you just can't get answered? Can't get through to the school district official who holds the key? Want some advice on how to navigate the world of schools so you can get what you need for your children?

The Gradebook wants to help. We know the experts, and we're not afraid to use them.

Send your questions to us at solochek@sptimes.com, and we'll forward them to the folks in the know for their responses. Look for the answers a few days later. Maybe we'll call the feature Crib Notes, unless you have a better idea. (Cheat Sheet is already taken by the Houston Chronicle, which does the same thing we want to do very well. Check it out for an example.)

Hope to hear from you.