That's one way to keep numbers down

While most of Florida's school districts have flat or shrinking enrollment, Pasco County schools continue to grow. The students flow in so quickly in some areas that the district can't seem to build new campuses fast enough to meet the need.

Thank goodness for inter-district transfers, right?

Every two weeks, the Pasco School Board approves a lengthy list of kids seeking to attend schools outside Pasco (mostly in Hillsborough), and a shorter list of those seeking to come to the district from other counties (primarily Hernando, Hillsborough and Pinellas).

It's working out so that the district is seeing the equivalent of a small school leave Pasco.

The latest report from the Pasco student services division shows that 281 students have asked to transfer in, while 691 have asked to leave - that's a 410-student difference, for those who don't want to do the math. Pasco has had that math work in its favor for some years now. Wonder how long the deal will last.

Sub insists he's no wizard, plans to sue Pasco district

Jim Piculas, the Pasco substitute teacher who claims he was fired for "wizardry," now wants to sue the school district for making it impossible for him to get a full-time or substitute teaching job.

His lawyer, Jeffrey "Jack" Gordon of Tampa, has notified the school district that Piculas intends to sue the district for "defamation and tortious interference damages."

"Six months from now I will be suing. They're not going to offer any money," Gordon told the Gradebook.

Gordon acknowledged that the district had a legal right to fire Piculas under Florida's right-to-work laws and also under its own substitute teacher manual rules. But he suggested that district officials were on shaky ground by making accusations that have had a substantial impact on Piculas' profession.

A weekend interview with ...

... Chris Dunning, principal of Paul R. Smith Middle School in Pasco County. Dunning, like his colleagues, has been told he must cut his school-based spending by 10 percent for the second straight year. He spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek about the considerations that go into such reductions.

When they tell you that you are going to get a percentage cut to your school level budget, what's your first reaction?

(Laughs) Basically, how are we going to do that? What different pieces or places can we take away from to make that work. The budgets aren't very big from the starting point.

They aren't very big? How big are you looking at? Because most people would think a big school with thousands or hundreds of kids in it would have a large budget.

Yeah. I mean, everything comes in a little bit different area and money is designated for certain spots. But such as for my school, I'm supposed to have about 950 students next year. And my total budget for running the school is about $33,000 ... for a year. And that's buying paper towels, trash bags, paper for photocopies, you know, teacher supplies, ink cartridges. Everything to run that school. The wax for the floors, all those things have to come out of that fund. Now, there's additional funds that we get for media centers, text books - those are different funds we get. But for the actual operation of the school, that's the fund that I have.

If you have all those monies put into separate accounts and separate places, are specific things you can cut 10 percent across the board? Or is it a 10 percent prioritized so some things you might cut 100 percent and another place might be a 0 percent cut?

Pasco agrees to postpone step increases

With just one day to go before their step increases took effect, Pasco's teachers and school-related employees agreed to delay the annual raises by at least a month.

The deal to hold off on the payments and suspend talks about them until July 31 came in a 30-minute special negotiating session. It sounded an awful lot like what the United School Employees of Pasco had proposed last week, but the district rejected.

This time around, though, the district's representatives asked for the agreement.

Pasco union accuses district of "bad faith"

Most years, Pasco County school employee contract negotiations begin softly with pleasantries, introductions, ground rules and some softball issues that get things headed in a positive direction.

This is not a normal year.

After just two meetings, the United School Employees of Pasco has blasted the district administration for bargaining in bad faith. The issue: The administration's demand that the workers postpone their annual raises based on years of service, or steps, until the contract is settled.

The USEP offered to delay the increases until July 31. But the administration "outright rejected" the proposal, prompting president Lynne Webb to accuse the district of coming to the table without the intent of truly negotiating.

"It's premature to expect the USEP to agree to withhold steps indefinitely at this point when we're still waiting for final insurance and salary costs - costs that won't even be available until mid-July," Webb said in an alert to members that she e-mailed and posted online.

School Board members held an emergency closed-door session Thursday to discuss whether they might change their stance. But when contacted by the Gradebook, they refused to give any hint of where this quickly escalating battle is headed. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The sides have agreed to head back to the table on Monday. "Certainly a middle ground can be found!" the USEP said in an afternoon alert to members.

Imerson lands a gig

After weeks of speculation, we can finally tell you where former Gulf High principal Tom Imerson has landed. He's the new supervisor of Pasco County's school volunteer programs.

He replaces Holly Rockhill, who becomes the new assistant principal for International Baccalaureate at Land O'Lakes High.

Folks at Gulf High were abuzz when superintendent Heather Fiorentino plucked Imerson out of the school and said he'd be moving to an undetermined job at the district office.

Even Imerson admitted he didn't know what he would be doing come June. And no one would fully explain the reasons behind his unrequested transfer. And although we now have the what, the why remains murky.

Yes, he's really running in Pasco

Driving north on US 41, more than a mile south of the Pasco County line, you can't help but notice it.

A sign, just like the one shown here but much bigger, urges folks to vote for Pasco School Board candidate Kurt Conover. What gives?

"No. 1, a friend of mine owns that property," Conover told the Gradebook of his decision to advertise his bid in Hillsborough County. But more germane, he continued, "Over 40 percent of our working population in Pasco leaves the county to go to work. ... They head north in the evenings. It's just to get exposure on the main road."

Conover, of Land O'Lakes, is running against Peter Hanzel of Wesley Chapel and Joanne Hurley of Land O'Lakes for the open District 2 board seat.

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

Colbert pokes fun at Pasco

So did you see it? Colbert sure made fun of Pasco's "wizard" substitute teacher and even turned School Board chairwoman Kathryn Starkey into a frog after drowning out her explanations with a blah, blah, blah.

We all knew it would be sarcastic, with the possibility of making Pasco look foolish. Some readers have already chimed in with their opinions. They say the piece was hilarious, or embarrassing. Maybe both. Did you laugh? Thoughts, anyone?

Does Pasco have wizards? Find out tonight!

Two weeks ago, producers from Comedy Central's Colbert Report descended upon Land O'Lakes to seek the "truthiness" of a Pasco substitute teacher's claim that he was fired for wizardry.

If you want to know what they found, watch the show tonight.

The show confirms that its "wizard piece" will run this evening (11:30 p.m. EST), along with a special performance by R.E.M.

You might see the sub, Jim Piculas, and you might see School Board chairwoman Kathryn Starkey, among others. But you won't be seeing any Gradebook reporters. The producers tell me my 30-minute interview hit the cutting room floor. Probably for the best.

Fiorentino: Forget the four-day week

During talks about budget cuts, some Pasco School Board members have raised the idea of moving to a four-day week for middle and high schools. Keep an open mind, they said, in an effort to explore the concept that is gaining attention across Florida.

Superintendent Heather Fiorentino isn't ready to head down that path.

"It is possible, and it's definitely not on my list of recommendations," Fiorentino, who faces a reelection challenge in the fall, told the Gradebook. "I am opposed to that."

She acknowledged that a district could save 20 percent of its transportation costs, as well as realize other savings. But "can you imagine being a parent and every Friday having to figure out what to do with your child?" Fiorentino said.

Saving money is one thing, she stated. But schools remain in the business of educating kids, and "I don't believe (the four-day week) is a good way to educate children."

She's not alone. School leaders on the other coast share that concern.

"A four-day school week caused by insufficient state support for the investment in education would be seen nationally and internationally as a true negative on the state of Florida," St. Lucie superintendent Michael Lannon told the Stuart News.

A weekend interview with ...

... Polly Jackson, a reading specialist at Pasco County's Lacoochee Elementary, a Title I school. Jackson is retiring this month after 39 years in education, most of them at Lacoochee. She spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek about the changes she's seen over her four decades in teaching.

Tell me a little bit about what it was like to teach in 1969.

I've done a lot of reflecting over the past few weeks. I was a fifth-grade teacher at Pasco Elementary. We were departmentalized, so I taught math, which was a love of mine. I was a math major for a while at school. The rooms were un-air-conditioned. I had over 30 children. The desks were mismatched, some painted in various colors of the rainbow. But it was my first classroom and I loved it. It was special. I think the biggest difference between when I started as a first-year teacher and now is there was no support for brand new teachers ... whereas now there is fantastic support.

Well, then, what did they do for you as a brand new teacher? Throw you in there and say, Good luck?

Basically, yes. I remember going into a book room and we found the reading books that we wanted. It wasn't one unified series for the district. It did have teacher's guides. Reading series have come so far. It's exciting, the new series that we'll be starting next year. It makes me a tiny bit sorry I won't be a part of it. But it's a good time for someone new to come in and learn it.

So back then you went in and it was basically sink or swim on your own?

There were other teachers who were there and would help. But now they have a mentor program where the teachers are assigned a mentor throughout the year, takes them through each step. And of course there wasn't as much paperwork back then. There wasn't the FCAT. There wasn't a lot of the assessments that we do, the ongoing monitoring.

What made you stay in teaching at that point? Was it hard? Was it fun?

I enjoyed it. Teaching was fun. It was fun.

Is it still fun now?

Colbert Report comes to Pasco seeking wizard

Producers from Comedy Central's Colbert Report have spent the past two days in Pasco County asking residents, school district officials and yes, even yours truly whether the school district has wizards in its midst and, if so, whether they're good or bad wizards.

Their interest stems from a story gone viral on the Internet about Jim Piculas, a substitute teacher who claims he was fired for "wizardry." His tale, first reported by the local ABC news outlet, bounced across the world and, not surprisingly, into the hands of the folks at Comedy Central.

They have interviewed families in the park, who have said they didn't know much about the story. They've talked to School Board chairwoman Kathryn Starkey, who says she tried to emphasize that Piculas' firing had everything to do with his classroom management failures and nothing to do with a 30-second magic trick. And they've even got Piculas on the hook for some face time.

Bayonet Point Middle gets new leader

Ordinarily we wouldn't single out a lone principal appointment here in the Gradebook. But the folks over at Bayonet Point Middle have been particularly anxious about who will lead their school, having gone through five principals in the past seven years and learning that the current one, Steve Knobl, would be leaving from the St. Petersburg Times.

So we pause to note that Mike Asbell (left), an assistant principal at Seven Springs Middle since 2004, will take the helm at Bayonet Point starting Monday. He won School Board approval earlier today.

"The biggest thing that I'm planning on doing is getting in there and getting to know the staff and their concerns," Asbell, who also has worked at Hudson and Ridgewood high schools, told the Gradebook. "The most important thing is to spend a lot of time listening.

As for bringing some desired stability to the school, he said, "That's something that I hope we're going to be able to do."

Pasco board seeks tougher cell phone rules

Following in the footsteps of their Hillsborough counterparts, Pasco School Board members have instructed superintendent Heather Fiorentino to look into stricter enforcement of rules governing student use of cell phone and other wireless devices that can be used for sending messages and photographs.

During a discussion on the 2008-09 code of student conduct, board member Allen Altman said he had received several calls from teachers who were concerned that newly made tests were getting to students before they ever arrive in class, thanks to text messages from kids in the period before them.

The rules state:

Personal electronic devices (which include, but are not limited to, cell phones, text messaging devices, MP3 players, beepers, PSP’s, CD players, radios, electronic games, etc.), which are deemed to be potentially disruptive, shall not be activated or used during / at any DSBPC school campus, bus, or school function, unless the student is given explicit authority to do so, by a school official.

"The students who are following the rules and acting with integrity are being unfairly impacted by the actions of students who use them to cheat," Altman said, urging the superintendent to give teachers and principals more power to enforce the district's rules regarding cell phones and the like.

Fiorentino responded, "We'll be more than happy to come up with the teeth, so long as I've got the support of the board."

"You've got it," board vice chairman Frank Parker replied, with others nodding in agreement.

Pasco teachers to protest pay freeze

It may amount to nothing more than a fruitless gesture. But Pasco school employees want their superintendent, School Board and the public to know exactly how upset they are with the recommendation to take away their annual raises based on years of experience.

So the United School Employees of Pasco has asked all district employees to wear black on next Wednesday, the last day of classes, and then for everyone to leave their campuses in unison when their contracted day officially ends - not an hour or two later, as many often do.

"They felt it was very important that they have the opportunity to send one last message before the end of the school year," USEP president Lynne Webb said of the group's school-based leadership team, which has taken the idea back to each school for buy-in. "There is a lot of concern out there ... that the district is not seriously trying to see what it can do to honor the contract and honor the step increases."

Donaldson wins teachers union nod

In perhaps one of the most unsurprising actions early in this year's Pasco superintendent race, challenger Steve Donaldson - a teacher - has claimed the endorsement of the United School Employees of Pasco.

Donaldson had been seen campaigning on the union's Chasco Fiesta float (see photo on the left), several USEP members helped him gather petition signatures to win a spot on the ballot, and his materials have had a prominent spot at the USEP headquarters. On his blog, Donaldson had spoken about his meetings with union leaders to discuss how to improve the district in the future.

USEP president Lynne Webb said in early April, when the issue came up that it looked like the USEP had already chosen its man, that the group had not endorsed Donaldson.

But since then Donaldson, a Democrat, has taken aim at some of incumbent Republican Heather Fiorentino's pet projects, especially the USEP-reviled Learning Focused Solutions teaching strategies. He's also started talking about the need to give teachers their annual raises based on years of service, something Fiorentino has recommended freezing in tight budget times.

Pasco grievance hearing delayed

All you Pasco folks who have been waiting to hear the juicy details behind Gulf High teacher Vicky Mudry's complaints against ousted principal Tom Imerson will have to wait a bit longer.

The Pasco School Board has temporarily postponed its scheduled June 3 hearing on Mudry's grievance, with the agreement of the United School Employees of Pasco. Superintendent Heather Fiorentino and the board want to spend the time hashing out more details of how to cut spending for the 2008-09 budget.

"That's the top priority," board chairwoman Kathryn Starkey said of the budget discussions.

The budget workshop is now scheduled to take place immediately following the board's 9:30 a.m. meeting. Topping the agenda is likely to be discussion over how - or more likely if - it's possible to preserve teacher raises based on annual years of service (known as step increases).

Pasco races shape up

Though the date to officially qualify for the August ballot remains a month away, most of the announced candidates for Pasco County School Board and superintendent already have surpassed the key hurdle to getting their names before voters - convincing 2,632 voters to sign petitions for them.

All three hopefuls to replace retiring Marge Whaley for School Board District 2 have had their petitions certified, as have the two major party candidates for superintendent.

So far, here's who will appear on the ballot (in alphabetical order), if they complete all the remaining required paperwork:

• School Board District 2 - hospital spokesman Kurt Conover, Wesley Chapel activist Peter Hanzel, Florida Turnpike authority spokeswoman Joann Hurley (non-partisan race)
• Superintendent - Gulf High teacher Steve Donaldson, Democrat; incumbent Heather Fiorentino, Republican

School Board District 4 incumbent Kathryn Starkey did not submit petitions. Starkey, who has no known opposition, has said she will pay to have her name appear on the ballot. Starkey has reported receiving $15,800 in contributions. An independent candidate for superintendent, Michelle Rehm, has not collected signatures and said she also would pay the filing fee. Rehm has reported that she has collected no campaign contributions.

Pasco teachers press for raises

Dozens of Pasco County school employees filled the School Board meeting room tonight with a simple message for the board: Don't take our raises away.

"I need a step increase just to try to keep up with the cost of living," Land O'Lakes High teacher Kenny Blankenship told the board. "Please don't make the budget cuts on the backs of employees."

Some brought petitions from their colleagues opposing superintendent Heather Fiorentino's proposal to freeze wages. Others said they spoke on behalf of their school staffs. Some told of employees, including but not limited to non-instructional workers, who already are seeking second jobs and are struggling to make ends meet. They asked for the raises and the respect they see the money as carrying.

"It's time for myself and my colleagues to be considered a top priority," Giella Elementary teacher Vivian Garner said.

Preliminary results of a United School Employees of Pasco survey showed that 55 percent of teachers are working second jobs to make ends meet and 48 percent are considering changing professions or leaving the district.

Earlier in the day, board members indicated their willingness to consider ways to cut $16-million from next year's budget and still give teachers their annual raises based on years of service. But some of the alternatives could mean eliminating positions at the school level.

"I have heard from several teachers since then and many of them are in difficult circumstances and they need their step increases," which total just under $6-million, Whaley said near the end of a two-hour workshop that focused heavily on the administration's recommendations. "I personally feel responsible to those employees ... I think there are other places we could look."

Grievance might shine light on Pasco principal's ouster

Pasco County superintendent Heather Fiorentino's removal of Gulf High principal Tom Imerson (right) from his post has created more questions than answers in the two weeks since the School Board approved the move.

Lacking an official explanation for Imerson's transfer to an unspecified district level job, many people in the community have speculated in conversation both online and off that three Gulf High teachers' grievances against Imerson held the key. Fiorentino has rejected such commentary as idle chit-chat, saying there's nothing she can do about rumors and that every principal has grievances against him or her.

The public soon will get to hear for itself whether there's any truth to the rumors.

School Board attorney Dennis Alfonso tells the Gradebook that he will ask the board on Tuesday to set a date to hear the complaints of Gulf High teacher Vicky Mudry, who filed three grievances against Imerson in February. In them, Mudry alleges:

• Imerson interrupted her class to have her immediately attend a disciplinary meeting, at which she was subjected to "abusive behavior" without the opportunity to have union representation.
• After the initial disciplinary meeting, Imerson and his administration subjected Mudry to "increased, unfair, inequitable and inappropriate scrutiny" that she considered retaliatory.
• District administration failed to properly investigate Mudry's initial abuse complaint against Imerson.

Union officials told the Gradebook that concerns about the work environment at Gulf High go beyond Mudry's allegations. See tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times or tampabay.com for the rest of the story.

Pasco superintendent proposes $16M in cuts

The biggest loser in Pasco County's efforts to cut its budget for next year would be full compliance with the 2002 class-size reduction amendment. Superintendent Heather Fiorentino (left) has recommended not filling teaching positions aimed at getting every classroom to the limits set forth in the amendment, instead targeting school averages, as lawmakers allowed during the recent legislative session. That would save the district about $11-million.

But one key item that she didn't propose on paper is likely to loom large over the discussions to come. She did not include any mention of pay raises. Fiorentino told the Gradebook she intends to recommend that the board negotiate with the United School Employees of Pasco to have no annual raises based on years of service, a savings of more than $5-million, and no cost of living raises.

"To be able to preserve the jobs and the benefits, we will have to negotiate that," Fiorentino said. "We'd be able to maintain our people where we are today, which is better than most districts."

In a letter issued Friday, USEP president Lynne Webb praised the administration's efforts to find savings in the general operating budget, which was about $527-million this year after a mid-year $10-million reduction. But Webb questioned the $16-million cutting target, while also reminding Fiorentino that employees "have made it clear that they are expecting to be paid their step increases."

To see Fiorentino's proposed budget cuts, click here. To see her memo to the School Board, click here. To read the USEP's letter to the superintendent, click here. And be sure to check tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times or tampabay.com for our full story.

Pasco teachers seek stability

Teachers at Bayonet Point Middle School don't want principal Steve Knobl (left) to leave. He's the school's fifth principal since 2001, and he's brought some needed consistency to the school during his two years on the job. (See one letter to the editor here.)

Pasco County superintendent Heather Fiorentino has no plans to rescind her transfer of Knobl to head Gulf High School. But she did take some time Tuesday morning to meet with the Bayonet Point Middle faculty and allay some of their concerns.

"They had concerns that he had done a lot of positive things there, and they don't want a lot of change," Fiorentino said.

She wouldn't promise the staff that the next principal will stay longer, though she said she will ask applicants if they are willing to stick around. And Fiorentino planned to have a transition team visit the school this week to talk with employees about the type of person they hope to have as a new principal, to help guide the selection process. (The application period ends on Wednesday.)

Knobl said he felt good about the morning session, and that he thought the faculty accepted the superintendent's entreaties as she intended them. "I think they just wanted to hear from the third-floor staff that they're going to be taken care of," Knobl said.

Math teacher (and letter writer) Mike Overbeck wasn't so thrilled, though. "We got exactly what we expected - a politician," Overbeck told the Gradebook. "What else can we do? Life goes on and that's it."

Count Pasco's pennies

The Pasco School Board is looking for volunteers to serve on its Penny for Pasco Oversight Committee.

The committee has watched over how the district has spent its share of the local-option 1 percent sales tax since January 2005, when the county began collecting revenue on the voter-approved tax. Several original members of the committee are ending their terms, though, and the district needs some new blood.

Want to be one of the six new committee members who will begin two-year terms in January 2009? The district is accepting applications through June 27. For information call assistant superintendent Ray Gadd at (727) 774-2776, (813) 794-2776 or (352) 524-2776.

A weekend interview with ...

... Heather Fiorentino, Pasco County schools superintendent. Fiorentino, also a former state lawmaker, talked with reporter Jeff Solochek about the fallout from the recently ended Florida legislative session.

Are there any things that come out of Tallahassee that you think are good?

If we get the $10-million for concurrency, that would be a positive thing. Because as we continue to grow and we need to build schools, that will assist us in building roads around schools and prevent the county and the school district, who are both being hit by the financial impacts, from fighting over who's fighting for what there.

A lot of people like the changes that they rolled all into one bill that dealt with the grading changes and the FCAT. (SB 1908) Do you see anything that's good in there?

One of the things that I've learned is that you also have to wait for the DOE to get done. Because the intent of the Legislature and what the DOE puts into rule sometimes is a little mixed. What you think is going to come out isn't quite the same. So I'll kind of wait until the rules come down. Because that will have a big impact on how it affects us.

The one thing that I have a little concern over is the NRT (norm-referenced test), getting rid of the NRT. I understand making it 50 percent of the grade. I think if we can move away from the FCAT, because there's so many wonderful things going on in the schools, that's important to know without having it based on just one test in a snapshot in time. Everyone wants accountability. There's nothing wrong with accountability as long as it's fair. But removing the NRT, I have concerns over that. And the reason is, because it says currently 33 percent is the FCAT score at the secondary level. But when you look at our high school kids compared to the rest of the nation, we're in the 70s. ... There's a real misalignment there. There had to be a better alignment. And I'm not sure a better alignment is getting rid of the NRT.

The one bill that sort of brought out a lot of controversy was the PE bill. (SB 610) A lot of it had to do with the middle schools. But another part of it had to do with the fact that they want the 30 minutes to be consecutive at the elementary level.

That is a big concern.

Then the debate seemed to roll out into the whole idea that we need a longer school day. I was wondering if you could talk about that. I know there's not a lot of money, necessarily. But do we need a longer school day?

Pasco's target: $16-million

Pasco superintendent Heather Fiorentino and her top deputies have made their way through the budget coming out of Tallahassee, and they've figured out how much they think the School Board needs to cut to balance next year's general spending plan. It's $16-million.

The amount might change, if the state set the local tax roll too high (as many expect), or if the state's tax revenue keeps on shrinking. But it's the number that Fiorentino is targeting as she aims to provide ideas for cuts to the board.

"We're going to be sitting down on Friday and hashing things out," Fiorentino told the Gradebook, saying she hoped to provide a list of recommendations to the board next week.

The administration has received several ideas, including having employees pay more for benefits, making parents pay for athletic costs such as transportation and coaching supplemental salaries, and ending the district's lawn service contract. Everything is on the table, Fiorentino said, but the goal is to have "the least amount of impact in the classroom and (to) maintain jobs."

Reorganization in store for Pasco school admin

The dominoes have started falling in what looks to be a far-reaching reorganization of Pasco County's school administration. The Gulf High student newspaper has reported that Tom Imerson (left) is out as Gulf High School's principal, and that he's moving to the district administration.

Assistant superintendent Jim Davis told the Gradebook that the details remain in flux, but that several people will be involved as superintendent Heather Fiorentino and her top deputies reevaluate "how we do our business."

"I don't want to get into specifics because there hasn't been all decisions made," Davis said, declining to talk about Imerson's next job or other aspects of the reorganization. "Obviously, it entails other people. ... Like anything else, we you make a move, another move follows. Those decisions are still down the road."

See tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times or tampabay.com for more details.

Drum roll please for National Merit Finalists

Sixteen students in Tampa Bay have been named National Merit Scholars, a honor widely recognized as the gold medal of high school awards. The students were selected on the merits of their academic records, personal essays and community work. They rose to the top of a semi-finalist pool culled from the top one percent of high school seniors, based on test scores on the PSAT exam taken in 2006.

Hillsborough's public schools counted five winners, compared to four in Pinellas and two in Pasco. The students all received $2,500 scholarships.

Hillsborough public schools:

• Andrew Betts, Plant High
• Sherry Chao, King High
• John Colby, Plant High
• Zongyu Li, King High
• Neil Manimala, King High

Pinellas public schools:

• Bridget Hendricks, Countryside High
• Karan Sagar, Palm Harbor University High IB
• Michelle Wang, St. Petersburg IB
• Sam Zakria, St. Petersburg IB

Pasco public schools:

• Ariel Choi, Land O'Lakes High
• Katie Lee Meusling, Land O'Lakes High

Private schools:

• Tara Braun, Berkeley Preparatory
• Alexander Edelman, Tampa Preparatory
• Aaron Koch, Tampa Preparatory
• Neal Miller, Berkeley Preparatory
• Samir Patel, Berkeley Preparatory
• Carter Schwartz, Shorecrest Preparatory School
• Liz Reischmann, Shorecrest Preparatory School
• Tiffany Cheezem, Shorecrest Preparatory School

Pasco Sheriff's Office drops teacher abuse case

The Pasco Sheriff's Office has decided not to file any charges against a Seven Oaks Elementary teacher or a paraprofessional  who were accused last week of taping students' mouths shut. Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll issued an alert this morning saying the department had "unfounded" the child abuse case.

Doll did not release any additional information, and referred all calls to the school district.

Assistant superintendent Renalia DuBose said the district would conduct its own investigation before allowing either the teacher or the paraprofessional back into the classroom.

"Because they have not decided to prosecute does not mean that there is no case or that nothing happened," DuBose said. "We are going to talk to the superintendent and see what her recommendation will be to the board. ... Our level of expectation regarding what it takes to be employed to us, we have a higher standard."

DuBose stressed that she had not reviewed the case, and she was not implying that the employees did anything wrong. But she wanted the opportunity to see whether their statements or actions violated the state's code of ethics for educators before making a determination. She expected a recommendation to go to the School Board by Tuesday.

Legg drops school board recall proposal

State Rep. John Legg thought it would be easy to change Florida law to allow voters to recall school board members who aren't up to snuff. Turns out to be a more complicated effort than the Pasco lawmaker expected.

"It would require a constitutional amendment due to the fact that they are constitutional officers," Legg explained in an e-mail to the Gradebook. "Thus, a recall provision must require a change in the state constitution."

He hasn't abandoned the idea entirely, though. "I would support us allowing all elected officers to be under a recall provision," Legg wrote. "It may be a bill for another year, but too heavy for an amendment (to pending legislation)."

Pasco honors top seniors

Madeleine Wagner couldn’t believe her good fortune.

The Mitchell High School senior had hoped to collect maybe $1,000 in local scholarships, to help offset the costs of attending Flagler College in the fall.

Never did she expect to snare more scholarships at the Education Foundation’s Excellence in Academics awards event than any other Pasco senior. But there it was, right on the list that started circulating in advance of tonight’s event.

Wagner had received six scholarships, including the district’s PRIDE award in the visual arts, for a total of almost $6,000. That amount will help pay the difference between her Bright Futures scholarship and the first year’s tuition at Flagler.

Wagner is one of 118 seniors being honored at 7 p.m. Thursday at Wesley Chapel High School. To see the full list, click here for an Excel spreadsheet or see the continuation of this post.

Pasco releases list of possible cuts

Knowing that state funding for education is going to decrease, Pasco superintendent Heather Fiorentino asked district employees for ideas of where they might cut spending.

She took comments for weeks. On Wednesday, she released the list of possibilities. They include:

• Eliminating or reducing field trips.
• Scaling back employee benefits.
• Getting rid of junior varsity athletics.
• Reducing jobs.
• Streamlining student transportation.

"Right now, what we're doing is putting numbers to it," Fiorentino told the Gradebook. "These are things that we are looking at. But it doesn't mean those are the answers we are selecting."

To see the full list, click here.

Support a teacher? Maybe not

The Florida Legislature's plan to cut funding for National Board certified teachers hasn't gone down well with Pasco school leaders. The district relies on the mentors to help new teachers, superintendent Heather Fiorentino said. Without the state money backing teachers' applications or paying the bonuses, School Board member Marge Whaley suggested, teacher participation is likely to fall off.

The prospect of losing "one of the most effective programs we have" disturbed School Board chairwoman Kathryn Starkey so much that she proposed an adopt-a-teacher plan: "What do you think about putting a call-out to the community to sponsor a teacher? Put me down as the first one."

To be sure Starkey understood how much that might cost, assistant superintendent Sandy Ramos gave a partial description of the amount at stake. The state covers the $2,250 application fee as well as a mentoring bonus of about $4,000, both of which the Legislature would do away with.

Starkey smiled and blushed a bit. "Okay, well, forget about that," she said, quickly abandoning her idea. "Hopefully it's just zeroed out for one year."

Pasco student arrested over small explosion in cafeteria

NEW PORT RICHEY - A 17-year-old boy was arrested early Friday, charged with leaving a pressure bomb inside a garbage can at the Schwettman Education Center during breakfast.

The boy, whose name is not being released by New Port Richey police, mixed some window cleaning chemicals with pieces of metal in a small plastic bottle, creating a compression bomb that exploded when the pressure inside the bottle grew too great, police Lt. Jeffrey Harrington said.

"There was a bit of an explosion and the escape of all the gas," Harrington said.

The boy faces  felony charges of planting and discharging a destructive device.

One employee suffered possible damage to her ear, Harrington said,. but no other injuries were reported.

After the explosion, the school resource officer - who was in the cafeteria at the time - instructed the approximately 120 students and staff members inside to head to their classrooms, where they remained while another six officers arrived to search the school and conduct an investigation. The modified lockdown continued for two class periods, ending after police determined no other explosive devices were hidden anywhere else, and the suspect was taken into custody.

"It became very clear this was isolated to a lone person," Harrington said, adding that he didn't have an explanation for the suspect's motivation. "He certainly didn't provide one."

No 'Day of Silence' for Wesley Chapel High

Wesley Chapel High students approved their Wildcat Gay-Straight Alliance statement of understanding and acceptance more than three years ago. The school, principal Andy Frelick says, is "preaching tolerance all year."

That said, the school will not be participating in the April 25 annual "Day of Silence" that has recently come under attack nationally by the American Family Association and locally by Hillsborough county commissioner Brian Blair. AFA chairman Donald Wildmon (left) has urged Floridians (and parents across the country) to take action to stop "this public school classroom disruption by homosexual student activists," listing dozens of Florida high schools it expected to participate.

Wesley Chapel High appears on at least one version of that list. (It's the only Pasco school there, among about a dozen in the Tampa Bay area.) Frelick learned about it when a parent began making frequent calls to the school "blasting us."

But the school has no plans on taking part in the event because of the negative reaction to its involvement a few years back.

"Some of the local churches kind of blasted our staff members," Frelick tells the Gradebook, adding that some students and adults sported white anti-tolerance t-shirts to show their opposition. "It ended up being a day of intolerance, actually. And I don't want to put our kids through that."

School officer under investigation again (not for web site this time)

The same Pasco school resource officer who found himself in hot water over the content of his MySpace page earlier this year is in trouble again.

Gulf Middle School resource officer John Nohejl is off the job as detectives investigate a criminal complaint against him.

The complaint involves an incident that occurred while Nohejl was not on duty, and has nothing to do with the school, said Darryl Garman, New Port Richey assistant police chief. But the nature of the complaint, which Garman would not reveal, requires the department to conduct a full inquiry.

"In the best interest of the city and the department, he was placed on administrative leave" pending the outcome, Garman said.

The department cleared Nohejl of any wrongdoing earlier this year in the review of his Web site, where some of his "friends" had links to pornographic sites. The current investigation appears to have nothing to do with the Internet.

Legg: Let voters recall board members

He didn't call it the Cathi Martin amendment.

But state Rep. John Legg (left), R-New Port Richey, certainly had the Pasco County School Board member (right) in mind Friday when he introduced legislation that would allow voters to recall elected school board members.

"It has come to my attention through recent events and through researching statutes that school board members can't be recalled anywhere in Florida. I don't think that's right," said Legg, who proposed his idea as an amendment to a bill called the "Ethics in Education" act. "It came to my attention because of Cathi Martin. ... I heard about it when folks were trying to recall her."

Members of the Pasco Republican Executive Committee looked into how they might get Martin removed from office back in May 2007, after the Times reported that Martin had missed more than half of the board's meetings since her 2006 reelection to a third term. (See related story here.) They gave up after learning that only the governor has the authority to remove constitutional officers, but pledged to pursue the issue with local lawmakers.

The conversations stuck with Legg, who suggested that if educators are to be held to a higher ethical standard, so, too, should School Board members.

Pasco GOP chairman Bill Bunting praised the effort.

"I hope it gets legs up there,” Bunting said of the legislation, which Legg withdrew for further review leading to another meeting next week. "It isn't just a bill. It's we the people. They forget when they ask, 'Can I vote by proxy from my house?' ... (Martin) raised the awareness."

See tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times or tampabay.com for the full story.

The money race for Pasco superintendent

They don't come close to some of the big ticket races on the Pasco County ballot. (Sheriff Bob White, up for reelection, has raised nearly $140,000 for his campaign.) But the two likely candidates for Pasco schools superintendent have raised some cash, and their latest financial reports give some insight into the race.

Incumbent Heather Fiorentino (left) has collected $20,685 - $7,550 in the most recent quarter - from a variety of sources ranging from businesses and PACs to district employees and folks in the community. Steve Donaldson (right), a Gulf High teacher, has received $5,825, including some local donations but primarily a $5,000 loan to himself.

Donaldson's campaign manager, Christopher Lee, tries to put the Donaldson report in the best possible light. In a press release, Lee calls the fund raising effort "signficant for a first-time candidate" and notes that Donaldson is nearing the total number of petition signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

Fiorentino also is nearing the petition qualifying level. Petitions are due in late May. Pasco County is the largest school district in the country to elect its superintendent.

Case closed

The Florida Elections Commission has dismissed as legally insufficient an electioneering complaint against Pasco schools superintendent Heather Fiorentino.

That doesn't mean the West Pasco Board of Realtors, which filed the complaint alleging the superintendent misused district resources to campaign against Amendment 1 in January, thinks it was wrong.

And with more tax-related referendums coming to voters later this year, the group will continue to watch whether Fiorentino uses school district time and materials on those issues, said Greg Armstrong, West Pasco Board of Realtors president.

"If it were to happen again, maybe we will take the same position," Armstrong said.

Fiorentino declined to comment until she receives official word from the commission that the case is over.

See tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times or tampabay.com for the full story.

That's not an endorsement

A read of Pasco superintendent candidate Steve Donaldson's blog might give you the impression that he's backed by the local school employees association. And why wouldn't he want that? The group does represent about 10,000 people who care passionately about the school system, after all.

They might even have spouses, family members and friends who vote, too.

But the picture of Donaldson on the United School Employees of Pasco float at the Chasco Fiesta (see at left, from his site), and the comments about Donaldson brainstorming budget ideas with USEP leadership ("We met with USEP last night and discussed the budget cuts that are afflicting districts all over the state") do not an endorsement make.

"He is slated to go through the same screening process that Heather Fiorentino has to go through" before the USEP backs a candidate, association president Lynne Webb tells the Gradebook. That review begins in May, most likely after the hopefuls have finished their petitions to secure a spot on the September ballot.

So what gives with the photos and the budget confabs?

"He is a union member, which means he's entitled to come to our union meetings and to be part of any parades or floats that we have," Webb says. But as to the larger question, "No. Steve Donaldson has not been endorsed."

Never mind

The Pasco school district has a new message for the Dayspring Academy charter school regarding teacher performance pay funding: Keep it.

"After a lengthy dialogue with the (Florida Department of Education), I have concluded that Dayspring Academy does not need to return any of the MAP funds it distributed to its employees in 2007," chief financial officer Olga Swinson wrote in a letter Thursday to the school's leadership. "Please accept my sincere apology for any confusion related to this misunderstanding."

Swinson had told the charter school's leaders late last week that the school would have to send back the $23,000 of state money it had given to five teachers through the Merit Award Program. That just wasn't the case, though.

No apology needed, said charter co-founder and state Rep. John Legg. "We're all adults. Mistakes happen."

Unfortunately, Legg added, district officials frequently make mistakes when it comes to charter school issues, and then they get peevish when the charter schools challenge them.

"When we approached them for clarification on the issue, they automatically took the position that they were correct," he said. "The only thing we ask is that, if we ask for clarification, people don't get upset that we ask."

See tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times or tampabay.com for the rest of the story.

Pasco sub arrested on charges of sex with student

NEW PORT RICHEY — A Pasco County substitute teacher was arrested Monday and charged with having a sexual relationship with an underage male student at Mitchell High School.

Lisa Robyn Marinelli, 40, of 9824 Nicklaus Drive, New Port Richey, had been under investigation by the Pasco Sheriff's Office since late February, after the victim's father reported seeing his son get out of Marinelli's car while pulling up his pants, sheriff's office spokesman Kevin Doll said.

During the course of the investigation, the father turned over records of hundreds of cell phone calls and text messages between the boy, whose name is not being released, and Marinelli. Thirty-five text messages remained in the boy's phone, including one asking, "How about a quickie 2morrow afternoon?" and another inviting the boy to Marinelli's home "because real men only need 20 minutes."

Doll said the boy showed deputies that he had a pair of Marinelli's underwear, which she gave to him as a memento of their sexual relationship.

More in tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times and on tampabay.com. (Photo from Pasco County Sheriff's Office)