TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Pinellas Votes For A Return To Neighborhood Schools

ADVERTISEMENT

By CARLOS MONCADA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2007

Updated: 12/19/2007 12:13 am

LARGO - Pinellas County's two-year effort to change the way students are assigned to schools finally was approved Tuesday night after months of public hearings and last-minute delays that threatened to derail the effort for a year.

The Pinellas County School Board voted 5-2 to approve the controversial plan that will steer students to schools in their own neighborhoods starting with the 2008-09 academic year.

The vote to return Florida's seventh-largest school district to a system of "close-to-home" schools will replace the 4-year-old "controlled choice" plan that was preceded by three decades of desegregation-inspired busing.

Yet parents still will have choices in addition to their neighborhood schools, board members stressed, such as magnet and fundamental programs, charter schools and other options.

"The real strength of this plan, I think, is that we were able to marry the close-to-home preference that many, many families are looking for with strong choice options that other families are looking for," board chairwoman Nancy Bostock said. "I think we found a plan that gives us some of the best of both worlds."

The assignment plan was opposed by some community groups, mostly in south St. Petersburg, that argued the plan lacked specifics about addressing the needs of schools that are expected to become predominantly black. They said they feared a possible widening of the achievement gap between white and black students.

Because many of the county's residents reside in distinctly white or black areas, several schools are expected to end up reflecting that racial makeup. Districtwide, whites make up 64 percent of the enrollment of 112,174; blacks, 20 percent; and Hispanics, 8 percent. The remainder is of other ethnicities.

"I worry about the future of every student in Pinellas County," said Adrien Helm, who chairs the District Monitoring and Advisory Committee, made up of educators and community leaders. "The social scientists across the country have said that neighborhood schools do not work for student achievement."

She was among five people who spoke against the plan, mostly for similar reasons. Their concerns were echoed by dissenting board members Mary Brown, the panel's only black member, and Janet Clark.

"I believe we're rushing to resegregate the area below Central," said Brown, referring to the predominantly black area south of Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. "I believe that with the budget constraints, we won't be able to meet the needs of the students in that area, and there are a lot of high needs in that area."

Most of her colleagues, though, said they were willing to give the plan a chance. They noted the plan will be monitored annually and amended, if necessary.

"Parents and families want a choice close to home," board member Linda Lerner said. "We have challenges, but we will face them."

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at cmoncada@tampatrib.com or (727) 451-2333.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT