Hillsborough County Schools

HARTride 2012 · July 18th, 2007, 02:58 AM

This thread was spured off from the WestShore Commercial Development Thread. The mainline discussion here is in regards to Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS).

HARTride 2012 · July 18th, 2007, 03:14 AM

Now about the Robinson H.S. thing. A major problem for the school was the Rembrandt apartment complex that sat across the street from the school itself. Over time, crime began to constantly plague the apartments and it got to a point to where incidents were occuring during school hours. When the school board finally got fed up with the problem, they talked with the Tampa Housing Authority and came up with a land swap deal. Basically, Robinson gave up its old driver's ed lot for the Rembrandt property. The new apartments (Gardens at Southbay I believe they are called) were built on the old parking lot and then the old apartments were demolished. Today, the old Rembrandt lot is nothing more than weeds, dirt, and trees. What the school board decides to do with it is up in the air. Robinson wants to eventually expand across the street and build several facilities, including a hangar to store the airplane that their aeronautical program is constructing. However, the school board has been eyeing the property so they can possibly build an elementary school on the land. Getting another elementary school built in S. Tampa makes sense with all the new development being built and people moving in. All the existing elementary schools south of Kennedy are either at or close to nearing capacity right now so a new facility may be needed within fifteen years. Another middle school may be needed down the road as well but it may be fifteen to twenty year (maybe less) because of future growth. Of course Robinson is still under capcity so it can be expanded if need be. On the other hand, Plant is bursting at their seams with barely anymore room for further expansion so clearly Robinson and Jefferson would have to take on some of the excess that Plant can't take.

***Jasonhouse*** · July 18th, 2007, 02:22 PM

I expect a HS to eventually be built in SOG somewhere. Probably way down near MacDill, where the land is worth the least.

HARTride 2012 · July 19th, 2007, 12:45 AM

July 18, 2007
From the St. Pete Times
http://blogs.tampabay.com/schools/20...orough-te.html

Hillsborough teachers slated for 8% raise
Most Hillsborough teachers will see about an eight percent raise under the contract agreement reached this afternoon between the district and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association.

The agreement sets the salary for a beginning teacher around $37,100. A teacher at the top of the salary schedule would earn about $61,300. Hillsborough also offers a variety of supplements, from performance pay to stipends for higher degrees and salary incentives to work in high poverty schools.

This year's eight percent raise follows last year's historic 10 percent salary boost for Hillsborough teachers. It comes at a time of financial uncertainty for school districts across the state, with the Department of Education warning about budget cuts.

The contract still must be ratified by teachers and approved by the School Board.

-------------
It's about darn time! If this thing goes through, It should help attract more teachers to the county. Of course I still don't like some of the things that the superentendent is doing to "revamp" the school system. This includes the whole increase in class time (teachers having to teach 6 out of 7 classes) proposal that I'm pretty sure will go into effect this school year. It is so sad that teachers in FL get paid so f***ing low. Its ridiculous!

HARTride 2012 · July 22nd, 2007, 03:11 PM

Now the teachers will have to work their a**es off AND still get paid mediocre! This is crazy!

HARTride 2012 · July 22nd, 2007, 10:59 PM

Parents say a walk is a dangerous trek
About 200 pupils will have to walk up to 2 miles in an area not built for pedestrians.
By Saundra Amrhein
Published July 22, 2007

WIMAUMA - The cafeteria, small and hot, was packed with 100 parents and their children squirming on small seats.

The mothers and fathers -- some pushing Dora the Explorer strollers, others freshly changed from work clothes - waited patiently for the school district officials to speak.

Children living within 2 miles of Wimauma Elementary School will no longer have bus service when school starts Aug. 20, Karen Strickland, a bus system manager, told the crowd.

For many, Thursday night's meeting was the first they heard about changing school bus stops.

Strickland described a financial crunch, using words like "best practices" and "state criteria." Grim-faced parents had different issues. Sexual predators along the routes to school. Speeding trucks. Early work hours that conflict with school times. The change affects about 200 children who will now have to walk to school, up from 30 last year, according to school officials. The district deleted 17 bus stops in Wimauma as part of a pilot project for southeastern Hillsborough County that will expand to the rest of the county next school year.

Magnet schools, school choice and a shortage of bus drivers are behind the cuts, Strickland said. The state doesn't reimburse the county for transporting children who live within 2 miles of a school. State standards allow students to walk up to 2 miles to school.

How, parents asked, could school officials expect small children to walk 2 miles in a rural town with few to no sidewalks, across a highway with trucks hauling lumber and produce?

Parents grew agitated when district officials repeated answers.

"Why are we paying taxes? For this?" yelled Felipe Orenday, the father of a 7-year-old boy.

In a town where parents leave for the fields and other jobs by sunrise, children walk straight from the house to the corner bus stop. In the afternoon, many students take the bus to Bethune Park, where parents pick them up after work. That bus stop will be cut.

"There are a lot of [stray] dogs in Wimauma that are going to bite these children, a lot of bad people looking for children," said Juanita Ortiz, mother of girls ages 10 and 8.

The school opens its doors at 7:30 a.m., but parents said early work hours mean they won't be able to drive their children to school. Wimauma's roadsides are overgrown, their shoulders often strewn with broken beer bottles, they said. Cars race through the side streets, and homeless or unemployed men aimlessly roam the neighborhood in the afternoon.

Twenty-two sex offenders -including four sexual predators -- live within 5 miles of Wimauma Elementary School, according to a state law enforcement Web site.

Strickland said the district transportation department can't fix law enforcement and community problems. State Road 674 isn't considered hazardous under state guidelines, she said, and the lack of sidewalks isn't enough to warrant busing as long as shoulders and rights of way exist.

Sheriff's Maj. John Marsicano attended the meeting and told parents he would try to get a second crossing guard for children along State Road 674.

Parents talked of starting a petition, but district officials told them they aren't singling out Wimauma. Families throughout the county will go through similar changes within the next two years.

Wimauma Elementary principal Roy Moral said his families face unique problems. He spent much of Friday trying to find solutions to the busing crisis.

"Many of our parents, because either they are blue collar or migrant farm workers, they have very limited options," he said. "During season they have to be out there at 6 a.m. And if they aren't working in the local area they are being driven down to Myakka City."

The area offers limited day care options, even if the parents could afford them, he said.

"This is not a suburban area. This is a rural area," he said.

Moral is considering opening the school earlier, either 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m., so parents have a safe place to drop off the children before they leave for work.

Saundra Amrhein can be reached at 813 661-2441 or amrhein@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 21, 2007, 23:31:19]

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/22/Hi..._walk_is.shtml

Maxim98 · July 23rd, 2007, 03:18 AM

That's a bullshit policy. They did the same thing when I was in Elementary School way back when (I'm not THAT young - out of the public school system, heh). Of course, Apollo Beach actually has sidewalks and isn't nearly as dangerous as 674. This is an utterly disgusting move by the county - that area is NOT equipped to handle small children on the side of the road. I'm so appalled by the lack of leadership. Other programs ought to be cut before BUSING is. How will children be educated if they can't get to school without risking their lives? Anyone familiar with the area would be disgusted with this....

HARTride 2012 · July 25th, 2007, 05:24 AM

This is another reason why I'm glad to be out of Hillsborough Public Schools and another reason why I HATE Superentendent Elia. In my eyes, she's messing up the system...badly. First she forces secondary school teachers to work their a**es off while being paid mediocre, and now she's cutting the bus system even more than Leonard did. Elia is so insane....I don't understand it.

I-275westcoastfl · July 26th, 2007, 05:36 AM

They've been doing this in Pinellas for a while except with the idiots who run pinellas county school its ok to walk 2 miles to a bus stop at 5 am and then go to a school 10 miles away. Pinellas counties choice program is alot worse and at least in Hillsborough you are zoned to a school and you wont be stuffed in a school that is far away and not by choice. Im just glad i have a car and dont rely on a bus or the stupid county. I no longer go 10 miles to a school now luckily i can go to a school 5 miles away even though i have a school less then a mile from me. I doubt hillsborough county schools are as fucked up as pinellas county schools.

JBrisco · July 26th, 2007, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I-275westcoastfl

They've been doing this in Pinellas for a while except with the idiots who run pinellas county school its ok to walk 2 miles to a bus stop at 5 am and then go to a school 10 miles away. Pinellas counties choice program is alot worse and at least in Hillsborough you are zoned to a school and you wont be stuffed in a school that is far away and not by choice. Im just glad i have a car and dont rely on a bus or the stupid county. I no longer go 10 miles to a school now luckily i can go to a school 5 miles away even though i have a school less then a mile from me. I doubt hillsborough county schools are as fucked up as pinellas county schools.

You have no clue.
The closest school to me was 7 miles from my house, which took me a total of 45 minutes to go to every morning by car. (Btw, I was forced to go to this school because the closest school was infact East Lake not Sickles, I live in H.C though so I was zoned for a school that takes forever to get to)
Why? A mixture of things. Traffic being the major issue.
Upon this, My school was built cheap!!!
Why? Because the company who does schools in H.C gets paid 20 million dollars to build the schools under a certaint ammount. This is for 2 reasons, one of the super intendents husband is the head of the company that does all the schools in HC. And what do you know, he also does addons, which for my school has had 2 so far.
Atleast Pinellas county schools don't look like Prisons, I mean just look at East Lake.
Take a look at Alonso H.S on Waters and Montague, Sickles on Gunn and Sheldon, Wharton, all the schools look stupid and most of the time were built smaller so the same contracter could get more work.
My mom is a teacher in H.C, for Sickles infact, my alma mater now

Thank god. But anywho, from what my mom has heard from Pinellas, the pay is better, and the school system is better. H.C is a really bad school county.
Forgot to mention my school was over 120% over crowded. So It was indeed stuffed, as a Senior I was given a portable home room. That doesn't seem right. Oh but we had 18 portables too.

HARTride 2012 · July 26th, 2007, 06:26 AM

I drove by my elementary alma-mater (Roosevelt Elementary) the other day, and there are three more new classrooms, right on the Phys Ed field. That's on top of another three recently completed classrooms, and a eight classroom wing that was constructed in the 70s. It is schools like Roosevelt and Plant that have me outraged. While Roosevelt is nearing capacity pretty fast, Plant is bursting at its seams with nowhere else to expand. Roosevelt has now reached this pickle and I have a feeling it will be overcrowded within five years if S. Tampa growth continues to be as it is. Even Coleman, Monroe, etc are begining to near capcity again, despite expansions over the recent years. The only S. Tampa school, south of Kennedy that is under capacity is Robinson. So I wreckon that school will see some major expansion over the next ten years. That and a new elementary school within the next ten years, and another middle school within the next fifteen years.

I-275westcoastfl · July 26th, 2007, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBrisco

You have no clue.
The closest school to me was 7 miles from my house, which took me a total of 45 minutes to go to every morning by car. (Btw, I was forced to go to this school because the closest school was infact East Lake not Sickles, I live in H.C though so I was zoned for a school that takes forever to get to)
Why? A mixture of things. Traffic being the major issue.
Upon this, My school was built cheap!!!
Why? Because the company who does schools in H.C gets paid 20 million dollars to build the schools under a certaint ammount. This is for 2 reasons, one of the super intendents husband is the head of the company that does all the schools in HC. And what do you know, he also does addons, which for my school has had 2 so far.
Atleast Pinellas county schools don't look like Prisons, I mean just look at East Lake.
Take a look at Alonso H.S on Waters and Montague, Sickles on Gunn and Sheldon, Wharton, all the schools look stupid and most of the time were built smaller so the same contracter could get more work.
My mom is a teacher in H.C, for Sickles infact, my alma mater now

Thank god. But anywho, from what my mom has heard from Pinellas, the pay is better, and the school system is better. H.C is a really bad school county.
Forgot to mention my school was over 120% over crowded. So It was indeed stuffed, as a Senior I was given a portable home room. That doesn't seem right. Oh but we had 18 portables too.

OK well that sucks but you were zoned to that school, zoning itself isnt exactly flawless either. But if you live in HC then you wouldnt go to East Lake since its in pinellas county. Also i dont know how you can use East Lake as an average standard of schools in pinellas. East Lake is one of if not the nicest school in pinellas county and is mostly upper middle class and rich people and not to mention the area surrounding it is also wealthy. You need to go look at other schools in the county like largo or clearwater high. Those schools have mold, rats, and just outdated.

But in pinellas county we have a "choice program" which supposedly you can choose a school that meets your educational needs. Well instead most of the time middle class students get screwed over going to a school that they didnt want to go to and thats far away. But damn 45 mins to go 7 miles you must have hit some heavy traffic. Back when i had to go to largo from north clearwater(10 miles) it took me 25-30 mins on average to get there. I guess they both suck but from what i heard from people who do live in hillsborough county is they are close to their schools usually. Maybe you just didnt luck out?

Maxim98 · July 26th, 2007, 05:43 PM

I went to TBT, where they've recently spent a rumored $12 million on a "renovation" of existing facilities. Luckily, the school isn't at capacity and the 55 acre campus provides plenty of room to grow. This renovation was the joke, though - the occasional coat of new paint, new (read: cheap) flooring and ceiling panels, and a new air conditioning system (also selected on a budget). Good updates, sure. Lots of the electrical work needed help, and it's important that it be updated. But for that cost? Seriously?

HCO schools are decent - not the best, but decent. But the lack of interest the community has in PAYING for the SERVICES they receive is utterly frustrating. They're undermining the ability of the next generation to have adequate access to a proper education because they're not properly funding the system - not enough cash goes into it, and not enough of it is spent wisely thanks to inadequate management.

It's really quite disappointing, but it could be much, much worse. I do feel that I received a solid education from HCO, but that's more because I chased opportunities to learn outside of the classroom and I have a certain talent for it. For the less motivated student, I can't help but worry.

cwat212 · July 26th, 2007, 09:29 PM

You guys under 20 won't remember this but the Lottery was sold to the public as the savior to the public school system in Fla. It didn't take long for the gov't to redirect the $$$ previously used for schools to other things....

It ain't about payin' our fair share....it's about our government's ability to spend the money in a sound and fiscal way - That is the problem. Private schools do a much better job educating for around 1/2 the cost per student. It's not a Dem/Rep or Local/Federal thing, it's a beaurocracy thing!

you nailed it here : "not enough of it is spent wisely thanks to inadequate management."

HARTride 2012 · July 27th, 2007, 02:04 AM

That's why I hate most of the politicians in Tampa, let alone Florida, and the United States. They'll argue over major issues but never pass anything good, just b.s. pork and other stupid stuff.

I-275westcoastfl · July 27th, 2007, 03:45 AM

Not to mention make things so they end up making money somehow.

HARTride 2012 · July 27th, 2007, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I-275westcoastfl

Not to mention make things so they end up making money somehow.

That's one of the only thing a lot of politicians care about these days, getting lots of money, making friends with the rich, giving the rich more perks, pork spending, and the list goes on... I am so fed up with this b.s.

Well, enough of this political crap. This thread is focused on the schools of Hillsborough County and I want to keep it that way. Not to be mean to anyone, but Jason starts ranting when threads get off topic.

HARTride 2012 · July 28th, 2007, 06:20 PM

School Choice Receives $1.2 Million Grant
By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 28, 2007

TAMPA - Hillsborough County schools will have an extra $1.2 million this year to build the district's choice programs.

The federal grant, announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Education, could mean another $12 million for Hillsborough during the next five years if federal funding continues. This year's money will be used to build more stringent college prep programs in middle and high schools and to add several unique programs to specific schools, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said Friday.

Programs will be designed to increase participation in the district's own 'controlled choice' plan, offering parents a choice of where to send their children to school, as well as a separate school choice plan under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Elia said these moves are in the planning stages:

•Adding a health administration academy at Tampa Bay Technical High School tied to programs at the University of South Florida. It could begin during the 2007-08 school year

•Add single-gender classes to James Elementary School in Tampa in cooperation with Academy Prep Center in Tampa

•Implement Bank Street curriculum at Temple Terrace Elementary in partnership with Trinity Charter School. The curriculum, recognized internationally, is used at Trinity. It is less structured, involving students in real-world activities such as setting up mock communities within the school.

•Strengthening math, science and technology programs at McLane and Madison middle schools and Spoto High School.

The competitive grant was part of $25 million this year awarded to 14 states, school districts or partnerships. Miami-Dade public schools and the state Department of Education also were grant recipients, with Hillsborough getting the highest amount in Florida. The district received a similar choice grant in 2002.

The money also may be used to notify parents of choice options and provide student transportation. Hillsborough plans to simplify its choice application process.

Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/jul...nt/?news-metro

HARTride 2012 · July 29th, 2007, 01:20 AM

"Hillsborough County Public Schools...All our schools are great!"

Anyone notice the marquees at many Hillsborough schools over the summer? That wording is such b.s!

JBrisco · July 29th, 2007, 03:18 AM

I laugh everytime I go by a school in H.C.
You know its funny I heard a guidance counsoler saying how H.C was screwing our students out of college because of some of the lame policies they have that make other counties appear better than us.
That could be one of the reasons I got denied from U.F even though I had a 4.0 gpa.
I'm sorry I jumped the gun on PC and made them better then they are, but I did forget how tough the streets are over there compaired to Tampa, who's streets are much weaker than they used to be. But that does not excuse the fact that our schools are built cheap, bad, and undersized on purpose.

Its funny when you see the shitty schools with it too, I'd only believe it if the only schools I saw were Hillsborough, Plant, Woodrow, Gorey, Lee or any of the other historic gorgeous schools. But when you have ulgy bohemiths like Sickles... Its hard to believe it.
You know whats really funny is My dad helps get famous wrestlers (in WWE or just in the world of amateur wrestling) to come down and teach, they always got lost trying to get to Sickles because they thought it was a Prison.
Its hard to have an enviroment indusive to learning when your enviroment appears to be a prison, when you're treated like prsioners and when the school appears to be in the ghetto, even though its clearly not. (Refering to how awful some of the students are at Sickles who helped us become the #1 school for drug users and sellers in Hillsborough County)

July 22nd, 2007, 10:59 PM	#6
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	Parents say a walk is a dangerous trek Parents say a walk is a dangerous trek About 200 pupils will have to walk up to 2 miles in an area not built for pedestrians. By Saundra Amrhein Published July 22, 2007 WIMAUMA - The cafeteria, small and hot, was packed with 100 parents and their children squirming on small seats. The mothers and fathers -- some pushing Dora the Explorer strollers, others freshly changed from work clothes - waited patiently for the school district officials to speak. Children living within 2 miles of Wimauma Elementary School will no longer have bus service when school starts Aug. 20, Karen Strickland, a bus system manager, told the crowd. For many, Thursday night's meeting was the first they heard about changing school bus stops. Strickland described a financial crunch, using words like "best practices" and "state criteria." Grim-faced parents had different issues. Sexual predators along the routes to school. Speeding trucks. Early work hours that conflict with school times. The change affects about 200 children who will now have to walk to school, up from 30 last year, according to school officials. The district deleted 17 bus stops in Wimauma as part of a pilot project for southeastern Hillsborough County that will expand to the rest of the county next school year. Magnet schools, school choice and a shortage of bus drivers are behind the cuts, Strickland said. The state doesn't reimburse the county for transporting children who live within 2 miles of a school. State standards allow students to walk up to 2 miles to school. How, parents asked, could school officials expect small children to walk 2 miles in a rural town with few to no sidewalks, across a highway with trucks hauling lumber and produce? Parents grew agitated when district officials repeated answers. "Why are we paying taxes? For this?" yelled Felipe Orenday, the father of a 7-year-old boy. In a town where parents leave for the fields and other jobs by sunrise, children walk straight from the house to the corner bus stop. In the afternoon, many students take the bus to Bethune Park, where parents pick them up after work. That bus stop will be cut. "There are a lot of [stray] dogs in Wimauma that are going to bite these children, a lot of bad people looking for children," said Juanita Ortiz, mother of girls ages 10 and 8. The school opens its doors at 7:30 a.m., but parents said early work hours mean they won't be able to drive their children to school. Wimauma's roadsides are overgrown, their shoulders often strewn with broken beer bottles, they said. Cars race through the side streets, and homeless or unemployed men aimlessly roam the neighborhood in the afternoon. Twenty-two sex offenders -including four sexual predators -- live within 5 miles of Wimauma Elementary School, according to a state law enforcement Web site. Strickland said the district transportation department can't fix law enforcement and community problems. State Road 674 isn't considered hazardous under state guidelines, she said, and the lack of sidewalks isn't enough to warrant busing as long as shoulders and rights of way exist. Sheriff's Maj. John Marsicano attended the meeting and told parents he would try to get a second crossing guard for children along State Road 674. Parents talked of starting a petition, but district officials told them they aren't singling out Wimauma. Families throughout the county will go through similar changes within the next two years. Wimauma Elementary principal Roy Moral said his families face unique problems. He spent much of Friday trying to find solutions to the busing crisis. "Many of our parents, because either they are blue collar or migrant farm workers, they have very limited options," he said. "During season they have to be out there at 6 a.m. And if they aren't working in the local area they are being driven down to Myakka City." The area offers limited day care options, even if the parents could afford them, he said. "This is not a suburban area. This is a rural area," he said. Moral is considering opening the school earlier, either 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m., so parents have a safe place to drop off the children before they leave for work. Saundra Amrhein can be reached at 813 661-2441 or amrhein@sptimes.com. [Last modified July 21, 2007, 23:31:19] http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/22/Hi..._walk_is.shtml

July 26th, 2007, 05:36 AM	#9
I-275westcoastfl -=^$$MK$$^=- Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 4,199	They've been doing this in Pinellas for a while except with the idiots who run pinellas county school its ok to walk 2 miles to a bus stop at 5 am and then go to a school 10 miles away. Pinellas counties choice program is alot worse and at least in Hillsborough you are zoned to a school and you wont be stuffed in a school that is far away and not by choice. Im just glad i have a car and dont rely on a bus or the stupid county. I no longer go 10 miles to a school now luckily i can go to a school 5 miles away even though i have a school less then a mile from me. I doubt hillsborough county schools are as fucked up as pinellas county schools. __________________ Myspace Click here to help my virtual city grow please!!

July 27th, 2007, 03:45 AM	#16
I-275westcoastfl -=^$$MK$$^=- Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 4,199	Not to mention make things so they end up making money somehow. __________________ Myspace Click here to help my virtual city grow please!!

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July 18th, 2007, 02:58 AM	#1
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	Hillsborough County Schools This thread was spured off from the WestShore Commercial Development Thread. The mainline discussion here is in regards to Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS). Last edited by HARTride 2012; April 21st, 2009 at 01:25 PM.

July 18th, 2007, 03:14 AM	#2
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	Now about the Robinson H.S. thing. A major problem for the school was the Rembrandt apartment complex that sat across the street from the school itself. Over time, crime began to constantly plague the apartments and it got to a point to where incidents were occuring during school hours. When the school board finally got fed up with the problem, they talked with the Tampa Housing Authority and came up with a land swap deal. Basically, Robinson gave up its old driver's ed lot for the Rembrandt property. The new apartments (Gardens at Southbay I believe they are called) were built on the old parking lot and then the old apartments were demolished. Today, the old Rembrandt lot is nothing more than weeds, dirt, and trees. What the school board decides to do with it is up in the air. Robinson wants to eventually expand across the street and build several facilities, including a hangar to store the airplane that their aeronautical program is constructing. However, the school board has been eyeing the property so they can possibly build an elementary school on the land. Getting another elementary school built in S. Tampa makes sense with all the new development being built and people moving in. All the existing elementary schools south of Kennedy are either at or close to nearing capacity right now so a new facility may be needed within fifteen years. Another middle school may be needed down the road as well but it may be fifteen to twenty year (maybe less) because of future growth. Of course Robinson is still under capcity so it can be expanded if need be. On the other hand, Plant is bursting at their seams with barely anymore room for further expansion so clearly Robinson and Jefferson would have to take on some of the excess that Plant can't take.

July 18th, 2007, 02:22 PM	#3
*Jasonhouse* Administrator Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 9,774	I expect a HS to eventually be built in SOG somewhere. Probably way down near MacDill, where the land is worth the least.

July 19th, 2007, 12:45 AM	#4
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	July 18, 2007 From the St. Pete Times http://blogs.tampabay.com/schools/20...orough-te.html Hillsborough teachers slated for 8% raise Most Hillsborough teachers will see about an eight percent raise under the contract agreement reached this afternoon between the district and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association. The agreement sets the salary for a beginning teacher around $37,100. A teacher at the top of the salary schedule would earn about $61,300. Hillsborough also offers a variety of supplements, from performance pay to stipends for higher degrees and salary incentives to work in high poverty schools. This year's eight percent raise follows last year's historic 10 percent salary boost for Hillsborough teachers. It comes at a time of financial uncertainty for school districts across the state, with the Department of Education warning about budget cuts. The contract still must be ratified by teachers and approved by the School Board. ------------- It's about darn time! If this thing goes through, It should help attract more teachers to the county. Of course I still don't like some of the things that the superentendent is doing to "revamp" the school system. This includes the whole increase in class time (teachers having to teach 6 out of 7 classes) proposal that I'm pretty sure will go into effect this school year. It is so sad that teachers in FL get paid so f***ing low. Its ridiculous!

July 22nd, 2007, 03:11 PM	#5
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	Now the teachers will have to work their a**es off AND still get paid mediocre! This is crazy!

July 23rd, 2007, 03:18 AM	#7
Maxim98 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: berkeley, ca Posts: 1,148	That's a bullshit policy. They did the same thing when I was in Elementary School way back when (I'm not THAT young - out of the public school system, heh). Of course, Apollo Beach actually has sidewalks and isn't nearly as dangerous as 674. This is an utterly disgusting move by the county - that area is NOT equipped to handle small children on the side of the road. I'm so appalled by the lack of leadership. Other programs ought to be cut before BUSING is. How will children be educated if they can't get to school without risking their lives? Anyone familiar with the area would be disgusted with this....

July 25th, 2007, 05:24 AM	#8
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	This is another reason why I'm glad to be out of Hillsborough Public Schools and another reason why I HATE Superentendent Elia. In my eyes, she's messing up the system...badly. First she forces secondary school teachers to work their a**es off while being paid mediocre, and now she's cutting the bus system even more than Leonard did. Elia is so insane....I don't understand it.

July 26th, 2007, 06:26 AM	#11
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	I drove by my elementary alma-mater (Roosevelt Elementary) the other day, and there are three more new classrooms, right on the Phys Ed field. That's on top of another three recently completed classrooms, and a eight classroom wing that was constructed in the 70s. It is schools like Roosevelt and Plant that have me outraged. While Roosevelt is nearing capacity pretty fast, Plant is bursting at its seams with nowhere else to expand. Roosevelt has now reached this pickle and I have a feeling it will be overcrowded within five years if S. Tampa growth continues to be as it is. Even Coleman, Monroe, etc are begining to near capcity again, despite expansions over the recent years. The only S. Tampa school, south of Kennedy that is under capacity is Robinson. So I wreckon that school will see some major expansion over the next ten years. That and a new elementary school within the next ten years, and another middle school within the next fifteen years.

July 26th, 2007, 05:43 PM	#13
Maxim98 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: berkeley, ca Posts: 1,148	I went to TBT, where they've recently spent a rumored $12 million on a "renovation" of existing facilities. Luckily, the school isn't at capacity and the 55 acre campus provides plenty of room to grow. This renovation was the joke, though - the occasional coat of new paint, new (read: cheap) flooring and ceiling panels, and a new air conditioning system (also selected on a budget). Good updates, sure. Lots of the electrical work needed help, and it's important that it be updated. But for that cost? Seriously? HCO schools are decent - not the best, but decent. But the lack of interest the community has in PAYING for the SERVICES they receive is utterly frustrating. They're undermining the ability of the next generation to have adequate access to a proper education because they're not properly funding the system - not enough cash goes into it, and not enough of it is spent wisely thanks to inadequate management. It's really quite disappointing, but it could be much, much worse. I do feel that I received a solid education from HCO, but that's more because I chased opportunities to learn outside of the classroom and I have a certain talent for it. For the less motivated student, I can't help but worry.

July 26th, 2007, 09:29 PM	#14
cwat212 Palma Ceia Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 366	You guys under 20 won't remember this but the Lottery was sold to the public as the savior to the public school system in Fla. It didn't take long for the gov't to redirect the $$$ previously used for schools to other things.... It ain't about payin' our fair share....it's about our government's ability to spend the money in a sound and fiscal way - That is the problem. Private schools do a much better job educating for around 1/2 the cost per student. It's not a Dem/Rep or Local/Federal thing, it's a beaurocracy thing! you nailed it here : "not enough of it is spent wisely thanks to inadequate management."

July 27th, 2007, 02:04 AM	#15
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	That's why I hate most of the politicians in Tampa, let alone Florida, and the United States. They'll argue over major issues but never pass anything good, just b.s. pork and other stupid stuff.

July 28th, 2007, 06:20 PM	#18
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	School Choice Receives $1.2 Million Grant By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune Published: July 28, 2007 TAMPA - Hillsborough County schools will have an extra $1.2 million this year to build the district's choice programs. The federal grant, announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Education, could mean another $12 million for Hillsborough during the next five years if federal funding continues. This year's money will be used to build more stringent college prep programs in middle and high schools and to add several unique programs to specific schools, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said Friday. Programs will be designed to increase participation in the district's own 'controlled choice' plan, offering parents a choice of where to send their children to school, as well as a separate school choice plan under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Elia said these moves are in the planning stages: •Adding a health administration academy at Tampa Bay Technical High School tied to programs at the University of South Florida. It could begin during the 2007-08 school year •Add single-gender classes to James Elementary School in Tampa in cooperation with Academy Prep Center in Tampa •Implement Bank Street curriculum at Temple Terrace Elementary in partnership with Trinity Charter School. The curriculum, recognized internationally, is used at Trinity. It is less structured, involving students in real-world activities such as setting up mock communities within the school. •Strengthening math, science and technology programs at McLane and Madison middle schools and Spoto High School. The competitive grant was part of $25 million this year awarded to 14 states, school districts or partnerships. Miami-Dade public schools and the state Department of Education also were grant recipients, with Hillsborough getting the highest amount in Florida. The district received a similar choice grant in 2002. The money also may be used to notify parents of choice options and provide student transportation. Hillsborough plans to simplify its choice application process. Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/jul...nt/?news-metro

July 29th, 2007, 01:20 AM	#19
HARTride 2012 getting sick of Obamaland Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,753	"Hillsborough County Public Schools...All our schools are great!" Anyone notice the marquees at many Hillsborough schools over the summer? That wording is such b.s!

July 29th, 2007, 03:18 AM	#20
JBrisco Blue Neck Architect Major Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Tampa, FLA Posts: 1,391	I laugh everytime I go by a school in H.C. You know its funny I heard a guidance counsoler saying how H.C was screwing our students out of college because of some of the lame policies they have that make other counties appear better than us. That could be one of the reasons I got denied from U.F even though I had a 4.0 gpa. I'm sorry I jumped the gun on PC and made them better then they are, but I did forget how tough the streets are over there compaired to Tampa, who's streets are much weaker than they used to be. But that does not excuse the fact that our schools are built cheap, bad, and undersized on purpose. Its funny when you see the shitty schools with it too, I'd only believe it if the only schools I saw were Hillsborough, Plant, Woodrow, Gorey, Lee or any of the other historic gorgeous schools. But when you have ulgy bohemiths like Sickles... Its hard to believe it. You know whats really funny is My dad helps get famous wrestlers (in WWE or just in the world of amateur wrestling) to come down and teach, they always got lost trying to get to Sickles because they thought it was a Prison. Its hard to have an enviroment indusive to learning when your enviroment appears to be a prison, when you're treated like prsioners and when the school appears to be in the ghetto, even though its clearly not. (Refering to how awful some of the students are at Sickles who helped us become the #1 school for drug users and sellers in Hillsborough County)