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Rushe Middle School Dedicated

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By RONNIE BLAIR, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - To most people, he was simply called Chuck. To the students who attend the middle school named for him, he will always be the more formal Charles S. Rushe.

School district officials, students, community leaders and members of Rushe's family gathered Friday morning to dedicate Charles S. Rushe Middle, the first three-story school in Pasco County and a facility that several speakers said was a fitting legacy to the district's former chief finance officer.

'This is incredible,' said Rushe's wife, Kathy, who is principal at Trinity Elementary.

Rushe, who died of cancer last year at 58, had worked for the school district since the mid-1970s, spending most of those years overseeing a budget that grew each year along with the district's student enrollment and number of schools.

The financial stability and quiet leadership Rushe brought to the school district helped make construction of the $40 million Charles S. Rushe Middle possible, Assistant Superintendent Sandy Ramos said.

'Great things are going to happen within the walls of this school,' Ramos said, reading from remarks prepared by Superintendent Heather Fiorentino, who couldn't attend because of illness.

Principal Dave Estabrook vowed the school would live up to the legacy of the man it is named for.

Students played a key role in pulling off Friday's dedication, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce.

Both the band and the chorus made their public debuts. The band played the national anthem, while the chorus sang 'Consider Yourself' from the musical 'Oliver!' and a song about Rushe Middle written especially for the occasion.
Estabrook noted the students and their teachers pulled together the musical performances just 24 days into the school year.

Two students were called on to speak.

Jocelyn Rodriguez is a relative newcomer to Pasco County, moving a year ago from El Salvador. She arrived in the United States speaking little English, but worked to improve her mastery of the language 'It is an honor to be able to learn in this beautiful facility,' she said.

Carter Novak said he and the other Rushe eighth-graders have a responsibility to set high standards for the students who will come after them.

Pasco's newest middle school, built for 1,300 students, has about 1,200 enrolled for its first year.

'I could not be more proud this morning to have such a wonderful facility named for my husband,' Kathy Rushe said.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

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