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Frustration Takes Open Mic

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By LAURA FRAZIER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2008

BRANDON - About 250 people crowded into the cafeteria at Burns Middle School on Sept. 8 for the second in a series of seven town hall meetings Superintendent MaryEllen Elia called "open mic time."

The vast majority of those in the crowd were teachers, principals and school district employees. But several parents expressed frustration about what they called a lack of communication from the Hillsborough County School District about bus transportation changes launched last year in southern Hillsborough and countywide in August.

Parent Sheryl Hickle said she spent four months trying to reach the district's transportation department to get information about her child's bus stop. She said a district official looked at an online satellite image of her neighborhood and told her, "There's a nice, wide paved area for your child to stand in" and wait for the bus.

"That nice, wide area is a right turn lane," Hickle told Elia. "You can't tell me they know what they're doing by sitting at a computer."

Parent Pearl Chiarenza said last year transportation director John Franklin agreed to move her child's bus stop from Bell Shoals Road to a safer location inside the South Oak subdivision. The stop was moved to inside the subdivision in 2007, but in August it was moved back to Bell Shoals.

"Don't ask me to speak to John Franklin," Chiarenza told Elia. "He's a very nice person, but you are in charge. I want to know what you are going to do to fix this."

Elia said the district has logged some 300 requests from parents to check out specific areas and already has moved at least 80 stops since the beginning of the school year in August.

She directed speakers with unresolved concerns to Franklin, who stood at the back of the room and fielded complaints throughout the 90-minute meeting.

Elia said, "We are trying to make sure, in the context of tightening up the budget and making our bus system the most efficient it can be, that we also focus on safety."

Several parents stepped up to vent about SpringBoard, a new program introduced this year for middle and high school students.

Parent Dee Prether told Elia her daughter's seventh-grade language arts textbook has material that was covered in fourth grade.

"I am deeply concerned about this curriculum," Prether said, waving a SpringBoard workbook in the air. "The solution? Throw this away today."

Parent Ray Alzamora took issue with the wording of writing prompts he said could encourage students to yield to peer pressure or brainstorm for ways to get around family rules.

Parents and educators in the audience applauded when Alzamora said, "I think this really needs some review. I know I'll be reviewing it."

Elia said the program is designed to teach students higher-order thinking skills.

SOUND OFF

The last two of Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia's meetings this year will be:

•7 p.m. Tuesday at Pierce Middle School, 5511 N. Hesperides St., Tampa

•7 p.m. Sept. 30 at Brandon High School, 1101 Victoria St., Brandon.

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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