Yant wins seat on Hernando board

BROOKSVILLE — Familiarity may have tipped the balance Tuesday for longtime resident James C. Yant, who topped Gene Magrini by a comfortable margin in the race for a seat on the Hernando County School Board.

With all precincts reporting at 9:30 p.m., Yant held a lead of more than 4,000 votes in the contest to replace the retiring Jim Malcolm in District 4.

“It helps a lot to know people, and for them to know who we are and what we stand for,” said Yant, 61. “A lot of the votes came from trust.”

He said his emphasis on boosting parental and community involvement resonated with voters.

Malcolm endorses Magrini in Hernando Schools race

BROOKSVILLE -- After 16 years on the Hernando County School Board, retiring member Jim Malcolm has seen a thing or two.

To be precise, he said in a letter Tuesday, he has seen four superintendents, one interim superintendent, seven finance directors, six human resource directors, six union presidents and 13 fellow board members.

So Malcolm's endorsement of either of the two candidates vying to replace him on the School Board -- James Yant, owner of a local insurance company and former chairman of the Pasco-Hernando Community College board of trustees, and Gene Magrini, former human resources director of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- is of more than passing interest.

His choice? Magrini.

Hernando schools closed Tuesday

Hernando County schools will be closed Tuesday, according to Barry Crowley, the district's director of security.

"They want to be able to open shelters tomorrow morning," Crowley said.

The district will open shelters in the cafeterias of three schools: Challenger K-8 School of Science and Mathematics, Hernando High School and West Hernando Middle School. West Hernando Middle School will serve as the district's special needs shelter.

Schools will dismiss at the usual times today.

Plans for Wednesday are uncertain. "It's really going to depend on the track of the storm," Crowley said. He added the district hopes to make a decision regarding Wednesday sometime later today or tomorrow morning.

- Tom Marshall, Times staff writer

Exclusivity granted

In the fight for authority over charter schools within their geographic boundaries, the Hillsborough and Hernando school districts have stood among the most vocal critics of the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission.

Now they're poised to see the FSE marginalized within their counties.

On the recommendation of a hearing officer, education commissioner Eric J. Smith is recommending that Hillsborough and Hernando - along with Broward, Polk and Sarasota - be given exclusive charter-granting authority. Eleven other districts, including Pinellas, did not receive enough points after informal hearings to win the commissioner's blessing.

See the revised point estimates here.

Pasco schools, along with 15 others that were initially rejected, did not ask for hearings. Many of them are involved in a court challenge to the constitutionality of the FSE, figuring the ultimate ruling will render the entire debate moot (see the court documents here).

Oral arguments in the case are expected as early as September.

Hernando Schools ditch new dress code

Hernando County parents who are preparing to buy school uniforms to comply with a new dress code can put away their credit cards.

With less than three weeks until the start of classes, the school board abruptly withdrew its proposed changes to the code Tuesday, citing parent complaints and at least one threatened lawsuit.

Many of Hernando's elementary schools have for years required a khakis-and-polo-shirt sort of uniform. But the new policy would have extended it to middle schools and even Springstead High.

That drew a predictable chorus of adolescent protests when it was first announced last spring. And parents complained about the inconsistencies between schools.

And the ballot includes ...

The time to qualify for the August primary and/or November general election ballot has officially passed. Here's how things shook out. Watch for more coverage throughout campaign season.

Winners (no opposition):
Carol Cook, Pinellas District 5 (incumbent)
Jack Lamb, Hillsborough District 3 (incumbent)
Doretha Edgecomb, Hillsborough District 5 (incumbent)
Kathryn Starkey, Pasco District 4 (incumbent)
Pat Fagan, Hernando District 2 (incumbent)

Contested races
Pinellas School Board
District 1: Janet Clark (incumbent), Jennifer Crockett, Max Loden, Grant Smith
District 2: David Archie, Nina Hayden, Minetha Morris, Sean O'Flannery, Ron Walker
District 4: Chris Hardman, Steven Isbitts, Ken Peluso, Robin Wikle

Hillsborough School Board
District 1: Dave Schmidt, Susan Valdes (incumbent)
District 7: Stephen Gorham, Carol Kurdell (incumbent), Jason Mims

Pasco School Board
District 2: Kurt Conover, Peter Hanzel, Joanne Hurley
Superintendent: Stephen Donaldson (D), Heather Fiorentino (R, incumbent)

Hernando School Board
District 4: Gene Magrini, Robert Neuhausen, James Yant

Report: Hernando coach touched student sexually

BROOKSVILLE -- At least one Hernando High School student has claimed that former coach Eric Riggins touched her in a sexual manner on two occasions, according to investigative documents released Thursday by the school district.

Riggins, 31, resigned May 5 from his job as classroom aide and assistant coach for track and football, amid reports of a criminal investigation into possible inappropriate contact with students.

Just three days earlier, Hernando Schools officials had recommended his firing, according to documents obtained by the St. Petersburg Times under state open records laws.

The men and women in black

If you see educators in Hernando, Citrus, Marion and Sumter counties wearing black today, it won't be a coordinated fashion statement. Rather, it's their announced "Day of Mourning" for public education, a protest to the Florida Legislature's deep cuts to school funding.

"These budget cuts will have an awful impact on our children and our public schools," Melissa Pfeiffer, political action chairperson for Citrus County Education Association, said in a news release announcing the event.

School districts across the state are preparing budget reductions in the millions. Pinellas officials are considering employee pay cuts, for instance, while the Lee school district already has begun laying off people. Other ideas circulating include eliminating reading coaches in Leon and changing school schedules to scale back transportation costs in Orange.

At the state level, National Board certified teachers will see their bonuses shrink, and all teachers will see their school supply budget reduced. The Legislature also cut funding for school advisory committees and school recognition. At the same time, though, Pfeiffer points out, the high expectations that teachers must attain remain intact.

"In the best of economic times, Florida seriously underfunds public education when compared to other states," she said. "These cuts threaten the most important investment our state can make: the education of our children."

A weekend interview with ...

... Cindy Gustafson, president of Partners Allied for Gifted Education and Support in Hernando County. Gustafson talked with reporter Jeff Solochek about Hernando's move to centralize gifted education into a single K-8 school.

When the idea came up to create this plan, where were you on that?

Well, I can tell you how it came about. ... Because we are a support group, basically the people who call us are having problems, issues or concerns. So we were hearing all the negatives, none of the positives. Our district had gone to a decentralized type of situation. They had originally had gifted housed under the district offices, the teachers all reported to one person. Then they parceled it out to the various schools. So you had principals hiring different teachers. ... You had 19 different programs at 19 different schools. In the middle schools, the only thing they offered was one period of language arts. That's it. High school, they only offered gifted English. Nothing else. It had just kind of deteriorated over time.

By the time we came into the picture, there weren't too many people happy with what was going on. Which was instrumental in our efforts. Basically, it spurred us on to do some research, determine the history of how things had been going with gifted. And that's when we noticed in going through the St. Pete Times archives, thank you very much, that Mr. (Jim) Malcolm had over the years been dropping, well, actually kind of asking for a gifted center.

So you contacted Mr. Malcolm then?

We called him. We were like, In '02, in '99, in '03, in '06, you keep bringing up this gifted center. ... Has there been any other movement on it other than what's been in the paper? You know, stuff behind the scenes? And he said, well, sadly, there hasn't been. And we asked if we could meet with him. And he said, sure. And then in the interim ... we got with all the gifted teachers in the county and did a little anonymous survey.

We promised them anonymity, told them we would be meeting with a School Board member, and said, you know, what do you think the strengths are in the current program. What are the concerns you have presently? And any recommendations. Pretty much everyone agreed on two or three main things, and then of course we had additional concerns that weren't uniform. ... The fact that it was decentralized rather than centralized, and the fact that there wasn't any sort of comprehensive, cohesive curriculum - you had a lot of overlap, you had a lot of duplication.

We presented that information to Mr. Malcolm. And his response was, Okay, we have 19 different schools doing 19 different things and all the problems inherent with that. Hmmmm. What can we do about this? He's like, said, I don't think that's surmountable. The only way we're going to be able to improve things and make a difference is if we have all the gifted children in one center. ...

Do you feel like the answer of that gifted center is the right one ... to all the questions you have been raising about the gifted program? Because I think one of the things I would think about is, let's say the gifted center is too far away and now my school doesn't have any gifted program.

Forget the plaid, and leave the T-shirts at home

The polo shirt and solid colored slacks, shorts or skirts are the new uniform for all Hernando County elementary and middle school students. Colors will be up to the principals.

The School Board set its standard to respond to school leaders' request to have more control over saggy pants on boys and sexy tops on girls.

"We're looking for them to dress like they're coming to work," said Sue Stoops, principal at Challenger K-8 School of Science and Mathematics. "School is their job."

Officials say kids will still have plenty of options from the choices their principals give them. (Story here.)

Columnist Jeff Webb disagrees with the district's move. "Instead of trying to crack down on an impractical policy, they are taking the easy way out, one that allows them to ignore the hypocritical folly of establishing a rule that cannot be, or is not worthy of being, enforced," he writes.

In letters to the editor, several Hernando students also blasted the idea of a uniform. Wrote one: "It doesn't seem fair to the students, because it doesn't affect our grades, the bullying isn't going to stop, and it takes away our individuality and creativity."

Maybe they should just be glad the School Board isn't taking action on hair styles. This Bradenton first grader got suspended for his 'do (story here).

Or perhaps they should point to the recent Orange County school district report showing that uniforms do not lead to improved student academic performance or reduced disciplinary problems.

Thoughts on uniforms for all?

Hernando school leaders do the shuffle

Around a third of all Hernando principals will likely find themselves in a new school next fall, as part of a top-to-bottom reorganization Superintendent Wayne Alexander has been planning since his arrival eight months ago.

And unlike the structural changes he’s planning for central office, these school-level changes require no School Board approval. It’s his call.

"Some people wanted to move,” Alexander said Friday. “Some people have been in places and that growth hasn’t been there. Some people haven’t done a good job.”

But whether the change is due to preference or performance, it’s clear some of the district’s 21 schools will see big changes if Alexander’s tentative plans hold, according to documents obtained by the St. Petersburg Times.

Reorganization begins for Hernando Schools

Let the shakeup begin.

Eight months into his job as superintendent of the Hernando County Schools, Wayne Alexander this week unveiled a long-awaited district restructuring plan to School Board members and principals. He said the plan would save $395,036 per year, beef up the delivery of technology instruction and support, and streamline a curriculum that he’s called hopelessly snarled.

Under his proposal, two top lieutenants — Ken Pritz, executive director of support services, and Barbara Kidder, director of labor relations and professional standards — would see their current positions eliminated.  Both would have a good shot at getting similar positions in a revamped organization chart.

But there are no promises.

"I feel good about being around next year,” Pritz said Thursday.

School Board double dippers

A growing number of elected officials are quietly taking advantage of a loophole carved into the state retirement law a few years ago that allows double dipping -- collecting a state pension while still getting a regular paycheck from taxpayers.

You'll recognize some of the names: School Board members Doretha Edgecomb and Jack Lamb (Hillsborough), Mary Brown (Pinellas), and Dianne Bonfield (Hernando).

See how much they are making in salary and monthly retirement benefits -- and check out the double dippers in other local governments, too. Times senior correspondent Lucy Morgan reported over the weekend that the cost of pensions for "retirees" who have returned to the payroll was around $300-million last year, according to the Florida Retirement System.

New models, no funding for Pasco and Hernando

As lawmakers talked about how they might revamp Florida's class-size law, they didn't give too much attention to a research paper that suggests three possible ways to change the way the state funds construction to meet class-size demands. (See the Power Point presentation on the paper here.)

The paper, generated by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, aims to find ways to cut back the state's bill from an estimated $314-million in the 2008-09 fiscal year. And under all three models, both Pasco and Hernando counties would lose millions.

Under the existing Department of Education funding system, Pasco would get $56.5-million for class-size related construction, while Hernando would receive $2.9-million. Using any of the three OPPAGA methods, the districts would get nothing.

DOE officials already have pointed out problems with the OPPAGA paper. Lawmakers didn't seem interested in pursuing it, at least for now. Still, district leaders, who already are wary of what the dismal budget year will bring, are paying attention to whatever happens next. The last thing they want is someone finding justification to cut back their resources for meeting the class-size law.

"Since Pasco is one of the few districts in the state of Florida that is still experiencing growth in student population, the funds we receive for class size reduction are vital to our ability to meet the reduction mandate and provide safe learning environments for all students," Pasco superintendent Heather Fiorentino told the Gradebook. "We will continue to work with our legislative delegation to ensure they understand the importance of these funds."

Which careers need academies?

Before setting up new career and technical institutes, Pasco and Hernando counties joined forces to see what focus the community and businesses see as the needs. They hired the Haas Center at the University of West Florida, which helped guide the pioneering effort in Okaloosa County, to survey parents and civic leaders about their views of the area's future in the world of high-skills, high-wage jobs.

The survey is now complete. And although officials have more research to do before proposing a new set of academies, they have released what they're calling "points of interest" from the Haas report. Maybe there are some clues in there, so we share them with you.

Among the highlights, the Haas Center found:

• Health care and social assistance jobs will increase about 25 percent, or about 6,000 jobs, over the next seven years.
• Administrative and waste services jobs and retail trade also are expected to grow by about 6,000 jobs over the same period.
• "Soft" skills, such as appearance and dependability, need improvement among existing workers entering the job force.
• Parents listed computer programming, computer-assisted design and graphic arts as the three top areas of interest.
• About 43 percent of Pasco residents commute to Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, where growth is expected in administrative services, health care, real estate and professional/technical services.

ESE coordinator named Hernando County Teacher of the Year

The Hernando County Education Foundation has chosen Vince LaBorante of the Star Education Center as 2007-08 Teacher of the Year.

LaBorante, 47, the school's exceptional student education coordinator, teaches grades 7 to 11. This is his first year at the school, but he has been with the district for 19 of his 20 years of teaching.

The Education Foundation honored LaBorante and the district's other 19 Teacher of the Year finalists at a celebration on Saturday.

Times staff writer

Peeping gym teacher loses license

BROOKSVILLE -- Here's one thing you can't do and keep your teacher's license.

You can't creep up into the ceiling over the girl's locker room, and then claim it was all just a misunderstanding.

On Friday, former Hernando County teacher Daniel Ray Madril was permanently stripped of his Florida teacher's license by the state Education Practices Commission. The ruling comes nearly three years after his arrest on three misdemeanor charges of voyeurism.

Madril, then a 39-year-old physical education teacher at D.S. Parrott Middle School,  was shimmying from a hole in the ceiling to a shelf in the equipment room on the morning of March 3, 2005, when a female colleague walked in and asked him what he was up to.

He claimed he'd just been playing a prank, throwing a basketball into the adjoining office of a female colleague to scare students in the adjoining locker room, according to police reports.

But there was no basketball, and female students and teachers had been changing or using the toilet at the time. Police said they would have been clearly visible through air vents to the prying eyes of, say, a gym teacher up in the crawlspace.

Madril received community service time and probation under a pretrial intervention agreement with the State Attorney's office, and was fired by the School Board in May 2005.

He could not be reached for comment Friday on the loss of his teaching certificate.

-- Tom Marshall, Times staff writer

Longtime Hernando board member won't run again

BROOKSVILLE -- Longtime School Board member Jim Malcolm is calling it quits at the conclusion of his current term.

"I'm done," he said Tuesday. "I've been on the board 16 years. That's a long time."

In declining to run for a fifth term next fall, Malcolm may kick off a horse race for his four-year seat in District Four. Already three candidates -- James Yant, Courtney Rinier, and Robert Neuhausen -- have filed to run in the August primary and November general election.

"I think this will pretty much open up the field if other people are considering it," Malcolm said.

Over his four terms on the board, Malcolm helped preside over a dramatic expansion in the Hernando County Schools. Enrollment was a fraction of its current 23,000, and several schools -- including magnets Chocachatti Elementary, Challenger K-8 School of Mathematics and Science, and Nature Coast Technical High -- hadn't yet been built or even imagined.

Indeed, Malcolm was a driving force in creating magnet schools in Hernando, and is deeply involved in the current push to develop a center for gifted children. Leaving that project on a solid footing is one of his top priorities in the remaining months of his service.

But the 64-year-old Malcolm, a former teacher and city manager of Brooksville, said it was time for fresh voices and perspectives on the five-member School Board.

"I've gone through a generation of Kids," he marveled. "Kids who started in kindergarten (in 1992) graduated three years ago."

-- Tom Marshall, Times staff writer

Mistreated?

A student called Hernando High teacher Shawn Bingham (left) a thief.

He said he had $75 in his wallet before Bingham picked up the billfold, which sat unattended in the school gym. When the teacher put it back, the student contended, the money was gone.

Video surveillance didn't prove anything, but it didn't disprove anything either. So the Hernando school system put Bingham on unpaid leave, threatened to fire him and eventually restored his job. But with no back pay.

Columnist Andrew Skerritt argues that's just not good enough. "How such skimpy evidence could be used to sully the good name of Shawn Bingham is worth serious discussion by the Hernando County School Board," Skerritt writes. "In the meantime, its members today ought to at least give him back his own money."

Check out the column. Then ask yourself this: Are teachers too open to the wild accusations of students? How far must they go to make sure they don't get in trouble while simply doing their jobs?

 

Musical chairs

Most of them would probably rather be preparing for Thanksgiving. The Pasco School Board even had canceled today's meeting, figuring no one would be fully focused with the holiday just around the corner.

But the state has mandated Nov. 20 as the date when all 67 school boards in Florida must reorganize and set their salaries for the coming year. So the sessions are back on. Will there be drama? Or will it be a humdrum affair?

Hillsborough probably has the biggest potential for a newsy afternoon. Ordinarily, vice chair Jennifer Faliero (left) would be in line for the chairmanship. But she's been controversial of late, as has the entire board, which has thrown bombs at one another and acted much less as a team than in past years. Whether the board will stick with tradition remains to be seen.

Pinellas could offer some sparks, too. Veteran member vice chair Janet Clark is in line to lead the board, but newcomer Peggy O'Shea is said to want the seat. Clark hasn't always gone along with the board majority. Will she take the reins?

Pasco and Hernando appear more likely to follow the tried but true. Pasco chairwoman Marge Whaley doesn't want to keep the chair in her final year on the board, and the rest of the board looks ready to hand over the meetings to vice chair Kathryn Starkey (right), who is up for reelection next year. The Hernando board also seems likely to pass control to its vice chair, long-time board member Sandra Nicholson.

Handicap the odds, if you like. We'll let you know who emerges at the top as we find out.

Money, money, money

Remember Henry LaCava? He's the guy who the Hernando County School Board tried to hire as superintendent. The only rub was, he wanted $155,000, and Hernando was paying closer to $125,000. So LaCava walked away from the offer. It seems he really wanted to lead a school district, though, and Indian River County has come up with the dough. The Miami Herald reports that LaCava will head the east-coast district for $175,000 a year.

Today's news

FROM TROOPS TO TEACHERS: When Marvin Wethington was thinking about days after the Army, he wasn't sure what his skills as a drill sergeant might get him. With the help of the federal Troops to Teachers program, he discovered the path into the world of education. The program, with 974 clients working in Florida, is about to place its 10,000th teacher.

SCHOOLS GET A SMOKE DAY: Pasco children spent the day inside - no outdoor recess, P.E. or even regional championship baseball - to avoid a thick blanket of smoke coming from more than 25,000 acres of fires to the north.

FROM THE OP-ED PAGES: Requiring kids to exercise in elementary school is a smart move, even if it's an unfunded mandate, the editorial board says. And, guest columnist Jack Bray says, peer mediation in school is preposterous. What the kids need is strong discipline.

TEACHERS GRIPE, CRIST COMMISERATES: A group of 15 teachers gave the governor a laundry list of problems they see in Florida schools, not the least of which was FCAT. The governor said he'd do what he can, asking if lengthening the school day would help, the AP reports.

SARASOTA GETS TOUGH ON APPLICANTS: Burned by recent teacher and principal hires, the Sarasota school district toughens its employment procedures and hires an investigator to do background checks, the Herald-Tribune reports.

FLORIDA JOINS LOAN INVESTIGATION: AG Bill McCollum e-mails 11 universities and 28 community colleges, aiming to get leaders to agree to manage loans without conflicts of interest, the Miami Herald reports. Meanwhile, the head of the federal student loan program resigns as the national testing scandal broadens, the Washington Post reports.

(Photo credit: Keri Wiginton, Times photo)

Today's news

LOAN PROBLEMS IN FLORIDA: The college loan scandal that's being investigated across the country has touched FSU, Florida A&M and Stetson Law. Chancellor Mark Rosenberg says the university system will take a closer look at how it deals with lenders.

PROM - MORE THAN JUST A DATE: Why stress over who you're taking to the annual dance? Kids these days like to go in big groups. And they have a lot of fun.

IT'S FREE. REALLY: It's not swampland, either. Three developers offer the Hernando County school district about 75 acres in eastern Hernando for new school construction. They're not even asking for impact fee credits. Just one thing: No high schools, please. School Board members are warming to the idea.

MAINSTREAMING WORKS: A Duval County elementary school finds achievement rises for students with  disabilities who have been included in a "regular" classroom and pushed to succeed at the same levels as everyone else. Now the district is aggressively expanding the experiment to every school, the Florida Times-Union reports.

GRAMMAR MATTERS: Digging into the FCAT Writing results, some teachers discover low scores on the multiple choice section were due to poor grammar, the Sun-Sentinel reports. That's not likely to turn teachers into punctuation police, though - grammar in isolation doesn't work, they say.

LANGUAGE MATTERS, TOO: More and more students across the country are seeking to learn the language of their family and forebears. It's about cultural pride, the New York Times reports. Others, meanwhile, want to pick up languages they believe matter in today's world, like Arabic. That's about getting a job, the Boston Globe reports.

Today's news

IS THAT A GUN IN YOUR BOOK BAG? Gun advocates have started the argument that if more Virginia Tech students were packing heat, the death count from last week's massacre might be lower. Others suggest that's a ludicrous thought. But it appears time for the debate on concealed weapons laws for colleges and universities. Only Utah allows it now.

LIFE LESSONS: To eighth graders, $7 an hour might seem like a lot of money. A new program in Hernando County teaches them how quickly that money is gone in the real world. The goal is to show the kids - especially those thinking about dropping out - the value of an education vs. that of the low pay they'd get in a low-end job.

MORE GREEN SCHOOLS: Pasco County also is building more environmentally sensitive schools (yesterday we told you about Pinellas County's effort), with one elementary going green when it opens in January and another on the books.

TABOO TATTOOS: Pasco teachers will have to meet a community standard for their visible tattoos and piercings, if the School Board adopts a proposed policy on professional appearance. Leaders in other districts say they wouldn't follow that lead - especially without negotiating with the teachers union.

STUDENT FUNDING TO RISE: House and Senate budget makers agree in principle to increase the per-student funding level by $457, the Associated Press reports. The Orlando Sentinel reports that most of the new money will come from local property taxes.

STILL NOT ENOUGH: Students might get more funding, but is there enough money for teacher raises? Broward County is finding the answer to be "no" as it enters a new round of contract negotiations, the Sun-Sentinel reports. The union frets that after all this time, only a handful of its 37,000 teachers have surpassed the $100,000 pay level.

FROM THE OP-ED PAGES: Florida needs an education commissioner who "does not burn incense and chant every time the FCAT is mentioned," the Palm Beach Post says.

Today's news

PINELLAS SCHOOLS GOING GREEN: It's not something you can see, but the district is making its new construction environmentally friendly.

CHEATING SCANDAL: More than half the nursing students at St. Petersburg College scored above 90 percent on one of the final exams they take before graduating. At first, officials were elated with the results. Now they doubt them, and are taking a closer look.

STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS: Colleges and universities report a growing number of students with mental problems. They need to be careful with how they treat them, even if they think the students pose a threat. Here's a Seattle Times story on the same subject.

FROM THE OP-ED PAGES: Thirteen half-days are way too many for Hernando County schools, unnecessarily burdening families, the editorial board says. Over in Pasco, the board longs for a return to the days when the student part of student-athlete came first.

DROPPING OUT: It's not just a high school problem. Community colleges also must come to grips with their low graduation rates, the Miami Herald reports.

MORE THAN JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM: History is not just a jumble of names, dates and places. It's a way of looking at how people and social trends and fit together to make the world as it is. So a group of history scholars say, and they're raising concerns about a 2006 Florida law that doesn't leave room for interpretation in the state's classrooms, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

AS IF IT DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT: FAMU interim president Castell Bryant warned trustees that the school has two more payroll problems, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

Today's news

LIVING IN A BOX: A group of Carrollwood Day School fifth graders tried it to raise attention on the plight of the homeless. It wasn't that much fun. And then the police showed up.

ONE LAST THING BEFORE YOU GO: Pasco County high school 12th graders complete their senior projects, yearlong research efforts on topics of their choice. The subject matter at Land O'Lakes High ranged from the history of hip-hop to how to build a cabinet.

PLAGIARISM PENALTY FOR PRINCIPAL: You're reading that right. The principal of Springstead High in Hernando County claimed as her own a well known Chicago Tribune column for her speech to graduates. And the Education Practices Commission says ... $1,500 fine and a reprimand.

'PEOPLE WHO WILL DIE': That's not exactly the message folks in a school want to see these days, especially when it's written with names next to a drawn stick figure hanging in a noose. So a Pasco County teen who reportedly has been picked on is now in juvenile detention on felony charges of making written threats.

BB'S SHOT AT BUS: If threats don't make you nervous enough, how about BB-gun shots shattering a school bus window as it drives elementary students home. That's what happened in Clearwater, freaking out the 12 children aboard. No one was injured or arrested.

PARTNERSHIP FOR USF: The International Ocean Institute chooses USF-St. Petersburg for its first center in the United States.

GEORGIA LOOKS TO FLORIDA: Our neighbor to the north likes the state's McKay Scholarship voucher program for students with special needs so much it adopts one of its own, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Of course, they're not likely to name their initiative after the former Florida Senate president.

ALL THIS FOR $40,000: The ride - a stretch hummer. The dinner - chicken cordon bleu. The location - the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota. No, not the wedding of your life. It's prom time in southwest Florida, as described by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Today's news

NO PASS, NO PLAY: Florida middle schools have rules about students playing sports - they need to keep a C average to participate. Enforcement can be pretty lax. But not at Gulf Middle in New Port Richey, where even one needs improvement in "punctuality" can put a kid on the bench.

MAYBE THEY NEED AN OPT-OUT FORM: Don't think this is about a gay-straight alliance. The Hernando County School Board is looking into how to inform parents about campus blood drives and make sure they're OK with their children donating. Why? A parent complaint that his son fainted with extremely low blood pressure after giving a pint, and dad didn't know he would be giving.

THE LETTER IS IN THE MAIL: And you should get it by Saturday. No, really. The Pinellas school district has sent out answers to the 18,000 or so parents who applied for school choice for their children. On the waiting list? You could get the seat you wanted as early as May.

RUSHING TO FINISH: Construction on a new elementary school in Wesley Chapel is about two months behind schedule to open in January. Crews started working double-time Tuesday to meet the deadline.

SHOOTING ON THEIR MINDS: Students at universities across Florida worry that a tragedy like what happened at Virginia Tech could happen at their schools, too. The chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee plans to have a hearing this month to determine what university leaders are doing to ensure that it doesn't, the Lakeland Ledger reports.

LOWE OUT: The Florida Senate won't take up FAMU board chair Challis Lowe's reappointment, ending her term quietly. She just couldn't overcome her vote against incoming president James Ammons.

SUPERINTENDENT WITH A TWIST: Broward County doesn't have an elected superintendent. But the School Board of Florida's second-largest district says it won't give interim CEO Jim Notter the job permanently unless the public approves, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

CUFF 'EM: The Milwaukee (Wis.) school district will allow its safety aides to restrain "thrashers" with flexible handcuffs, the Journal-Sentinel reports. Better than having a 300-pound officer sit on them until they calm down, officials reason.

Today's news

ARE FLORIDA CAMPUSES SAFE? University and college security officials take a closer look at their emergency plans in the aftermath of a gunman's murderous rampage at Virginia Tech. While they've improved things since Columbine and 9/11, they admit their schools are far from immune from attack.

PLEASE GIVE US SIXTH GRADE: Parents of fifth graders at a Pasco County charter school that teaches some classes in Greek are asking the School Board to let the school add another grade. District administrators say the Athenian Academy is making strides, but it's not ready to expand yet.

YOUR KID CAN'T COME: It used to be that if a Hernando County student gained a seat in a magnet school, his or her siblings got a pass in, too. The School Board quietly changed the policy amid complaints that siblings, not applicants, were filling the magnets. Now parents of the siblings are griping, and the School Board is reconsidering.

FACULTY RAISES AT USF: Faculty members and the university agree on 4.5 percent raises, retroactive to October.

FLORIDA KIDS DON'T VOLUNTEER: A national study puts Florida's youth at 50th when it comes to giving their time, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

STUDENT LEADERS SUPPORT FEE HIKE: The university students like that the money would go to improving technology, and say they will urge others to support SB 850, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

WHEN DOES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL END? Parents in Los Angeles argue that sixth graders aren't ready for the transition to middle school, and are pushing for an expansion of elementary school to include them, the LA Times reports. The debate over how schools should be configured is gaining steam across the country.

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KIDS LOVE THESE BOOKS: The Bluford High series by author Paul Langan has grown so popular in Hillsborough County middle schools that media specialists are ordering more. What's the attraction? The characters are mostly black, mostly urban and, basically, a lot like the kids who are reading about them.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE SCHOLARS GONE? Not to Florida A&M, that's for sure. The school rivaled Harvard U. in its ability to attract the nation's top black high school seniors only seven years ago. Today, it barely recruits them.

HATE THOSE HALF DAYS: Classes end so teachers can plan. But parents' work days go on. Hernando County school leaders wonder if there's a better way, raising concerns about the kids who go home to empty houses.

WANT TO BE A TEACHER? If you don't have the degree but you have the desire, you can check out the education preparation institute program at the state's community colleges, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

WRONG TIME FOR VOUCHERS: Florida lawmakers have too much else on their plate - can you say property taxes and insurance - to spend time debating a revival of the voucher program that the state Supreme Court struck down, the Palm Beach Post editorializes.

THEY'RE EATING SALADS: Healthier cafeteria food is taking root. Even the pizza crust has gotten better for you. Here's reports from the Tallahassee Democrat and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on the craze.

HOMEWORK HELPERS HURT: Parents might think they're doing their kids a service by assisting on the homework. But many educators argue that the interference does the children no good, the Washington Post reports.

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CONSEQUENCE STANDS: The Pinellas County kid who mooned his teacher, got transferred to a new high school and then sued will have to live with the results, a judge rules. In fact, the judge says, he's lucky the punishment wasn't worse.

THEY SING, TOO: By day, they teach. But some of the Pine View Middle School teachers in Land O'Lakes are karaoke addicts by night. (Some are actually good, too.) They merge their loves to raise money for cancer research with a school version of American Idol. Some of the kids are tougher judges than Simon.

ON THE OP-ED PAGES: Sure, Wal-Mart can build a supercenter just steps from a school complex. But Hernando County officials ought to think hard about whether it's best for the youth before approving the project, guest columnist Arnold Silver writes.

PASCO CHARTER NEWS: The school district recommends closure of one charter school, citing irreparable financial problems, and denial of the proposed expansion of another.

BAD TEACHER: Charles F. Taylor was a popular teacher at Tyrone Middle in St. Petersburg. But he also appears to have enjoyed child pornography while at home.

PARENTS SWAY GIFTED DEBATE: The Gradebook has detailed the Legislature's changing winds on how to fund gifted education for next year. Active Sarasota parents played a big role in the debate, the Herald-Tribune reports.

VOUCHER RALLY: Thousands show up in Tallahassee to support school choice, the Florida Times-Union reports.

WARFORD FOR COMMISSIONER: Ousted by and highly critical of the Bush administration, former K-12 chancellor Jim Warford is a leading candidate to take over the Department of Education, the Palm Beach Post reports.

CALI CLASS SIZE SCANDAL GROWS: Santa Ana (Cal.) school officials said the phantom classes and other misstatements designed to get class-size reduction funds were limited to the elementary level. Now it turns out there were problems in the ninth grade, too, the LA Times reports.

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FAMU FINANCES: Lawmakers reverse themselves to allow Florida A&M to retain financial control over the engineering school it shares with Florida State. But a bill moving ahead in the Senate would require stricter oversight of FAMU's money situation. The university also responds to its latest audit findings.

NOT ENOUGH TIME: Pasco County teachers and the School Board decide to pass on a second chance to grab $3.5-million from the state for teacher performance pay bonuses. Though the new Merit Award Program is better than STAR, they say, its May 1 deadline to submit a plan for this year is too soon.

ALL FOR SHOW: Outnumbered House Democrats propose rolling back required local tax effort for schools to 2005 levels. They were trying to make the point that the GOP-dominated Legislature has balanced the education budget on the shoulders of local taxpayers. Their move failed.

$1 AT A TIME: Senators approve a bill that would use taxes on slot machine revenue to support the Florida Prepaid scholarship fund.

PLANNING FOR HIGH SCHOOL: Hernando County eighth graders have begun choosing their majors, a new state requirement.

SETTING A BAD EXAMPLE: On the football field, Vernon J. Hobbs of Tampa was one of Blake High's stars. He had a stack of recruiting letters from colleges. He probably won't be going. Hobbs and three classmates stand accused of a violent crime spree, which they helped document on their own MySpace pages.

NO FUNDING SHIFT: Lawmakers from south Florida failed to change the school finance formula that they say benefits north and central Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports.

FORGET SCHOOL THEATER: A group of Connecticut high school students whose principal canceled their self-penned play on Iraq are headed to off-Broadway to perform their work, the NY Times reports.

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ART MATTERS: The Wimauma Academy does all it can to ensure its students, mostly the children of migrant farm workers, get exposed to things like classical music. And the kids love it.

NOT YOUR ORDINARY TEENS: These Hernando County high school students call themselves the Free Radicals. They like to think deep thoughts, and they want to make a difference.

THAT'S JUST MEAN: Reacting to a parent's complaint, the principal of East Lake High in Pinellas County bans the joke superlatives "worst hair" and "most likely to drop out of college." The students say: Chill.

EASING THE TRANSITION: Pasco County changes its summer school programs to help struggling fifth- and eighth-graders make it to the next level.

MAKE THEM HAVE DEGREES: Gov. Charlie Crist tells a group of pre-k advocates he will lobby lawmakers to require pre-k teachers to have four-year degrees, the Associated Press reports.

THAT SCHOOL IS GREEN: Sure, it cost more to build. But Palm Beach County officials figure they'll make the money back in five years with savings on energy and water, the Palm Beach Post reports. Plus, you get preferred parking for your hybrid.

LEARN A LANGUAGE WITHOUT TALKING: American Sign Language is a popular course in Broward County high schools, the Sun-Sentinel reports. To improve, the students help out in middle school programs for the deaf and hard of hearing.

FAMU UPDATE: University leaders say they'll ask Florida lawmakers not to hand over control of their engineering school to Florida State. Student leaders, meanwhile, do it, walking the Capitol to plead their case. Not everyone is convinced, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

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HIGH HOPES: Florida A&M stalwarts look to James Ammons to lead their school out of scandal and back to success. He's got a promising track record at North Carolina Central University. Already, Ammons has begun his work, meeting with Florida lawmakers despite not officially taking the reins until July. To read an exclusive interview with Ammons, click here.

WAYNE'S WORLD: Wayne Alexander is Hernando County's new schools superintendent. Coming from Connecticut, he offers his views about education, leadership and the Boston Red Sox.

DON'T SAY 'FAT': Parents, politicians and educators want overweight kids to lose the pounds. One way is to make it fun, rather than punishing. Another is to banish the oppressive words like 'fat' and 'diet.'

THE FIRST TO GO: The saying goes that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So you've got to wonder what it means when schools eliminate recess so kids can prepare for FCAT. That's what is happening in Lee County, the Naples Daily News reports, and parents are not too happy.

FROM THE OP-ED PAGES: The Palm Beach Post argues that the House bill pushing "world class"  standards does anything but.

A BIG GAP: Black males in Bay County aren't meeting expectations in school. In third grade, for instance, just one black boy was reading at grade level on the FCAT. County officials are now trying to tackle the problem, the Panama City News Herald reports.

MARKETING 'HONORS': The teens are seeking an edge to get into college. The companies? Well, they're selling something that purports to carry significance. Some of them are just scams, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

THEY CALL IT CHEESE: It's really a mix of black tar heroin and crushed Tylenol PM. It sells for as little as $2 a hit. And the drug is becoming a big problem for Dallas public schools, the Dallas Morning News reports.

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WORLD-CLASS STANDARDS: That's the new catch phrase for the effort to replace the Sunshine State Standards. And the House Schools and Learning Council is doing its part, moving the legislation to the floor with a unanimous vote despite some misgivings. Here's the Miami Herald version.

TEENS ON A BINGE: As prom approaches, Pinellas school officials take steps to deal with kids who drink too much alcohol.

HERNANDO TEAM WINS: A 7-member team from Hernando High takes the state African-American Brain Bowl, sponsored by the Florida Education Fund. Now they have their eyes on the prize for next year's competition.

PERFORMANCE PAY UPDATE: Seminole County appears to be the first to dump its approved STAR plan, reacting to the new state law allowing them to do it, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

VOUCHER REPORT: A bill moves ahead to expand Florida's McKay Scholarship program, the Bradenton Herald reports. The effort to kill Utah's new universal voucher program, meanwhile, heats up,  KSL-TV  reports.

BIASED BOOKS? A Palm Beach County teacher finds that most people pictured in the county-approved algebra book are white. She's taking her concern national, presenting her findings to the American Education Research Association, the Palm Beach Post reports.

LOOK BOTH WAYS: So many kids get hit crossing the road that the Newark, N.J., school district begins teaching children how to do it properly, based on a program developed at the University of Miami, the New York Times reports.

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LET'S MAKE A DEAL: Wayne Alexander gets a two-year contract worth about $153,000 annually to take over as Hernando County's new schools superintendent.

AP AUDIT: The explosion of Advanced Placement courses in Florida and across the country has college admission officers questioning whether the classes are all as rigorous as they are supposed to be. The College Board responds by conducting its first ever audit of AP classes.

SUING OVER MOONING: The family of the Pinellas County boy who got suspended and transferred for mooning a teacher has sued the school district. To read the full story, click here. To participate in the lively reader conversation about this, click here.

FAMU UPDATE: Summer school enrollment is on track despite all the hubbub, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

FOCUS ON VOCATIONS: Call it career and technical education, call it multiple pathways, call it what you will, vocational classes are all the rage these days. And they're academically challenging, not like in the past. The debate is on over whether it's the right way to go, the LA Times reports.

MEET THE SUBSTITUTE: Arnold Blume is 81, and, after 29 years as a teacher, he has retired to a life of substitute teaching in New York. Check out this nice NY Times profile.

PITCHING FOR PROSPECTS: A growing D.C. suburb school district hones its marketing effort to attract teachers as it competes with surrounding districts in the shrinking pool of candidates, the Washington Post reports.

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WALL STREET EDUCATION: Several proposed changes to Florida's education system sound like they come from the corporate world more than the classroom. Lawmakers look to tailor the curriculum