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School Board OKs Contracts, Questions The System

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By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2007

TAMPA - Hillsborough County School Board members continued to question their process of awarding contracts Tuesday while approving two they had placed on hold.

Two contracts for $12,500 each were approved for Stephen Peters, a South Carolina motivational speaker whose program teaches manners and etiquette to black and Hispanic males. He will provide his Gentlemen's Club program to 30 students at Blake High and Franklin Middle School.

He also has provided the program at Just Elementary, King High and Memorial Middle schools for contracts of $12,500 each and spoken at Middleton High for $4,800 and at Armwood High for $5,800, district spokesman Steve Hegarty said.

Peters, a national speaker, offers a $1,000 scholarship to every student in his program who graduates from high school, and is a "phenomenal" speaker, board members said. He also has developed a curriculum and augments the work of community volunteers, board member Doretha Edgecomb said.

One of those volunteers, Jason Mims, told board members he has questions about the contracts.

Mims, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, asked whether anyone invited Peters to Hillsborough to speak for free and whether federal money that flows to Hillsborough's poorest schools is supposed to be reinvested in South Carolina.

Board member Candy Olson said, "To me the money is invested right here in Hillsborough County" through Peters' influence on students. "They are riveted."

In the broader view, advertising for bids or proposals for every contract is not realistic, Olson said. "It's not an effective use of time."

Board chairwoman Jennifer Faliero said she will request a workshop after the holidays to discuss board policies concerning professional services, a subject the board has recently struggled to define.

The board also approved an architect and construction manager to build a new elementary school for 620 students in Temple Heights. It will be built at 46th Street off Busch Boulevard and is expected to be ready by August, said Cathy Valdes, the district's chief facilities officer. It will relieve crowding at Shaw, Witter, Pizzo and possibly Forest Hills elementary schools, she said.

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

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