TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Student Numbers Less Than Anticipated

ADVERTISEMENT

By RONNIE BLAIR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 20, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Pasco County schools were to reopen today, one day after Tropical Storm Fay interrupted what otherwise had been a smooth start to the 2008-09 school year.

Superintendent Heather Fiorentino made a decision about 5:30 p.m. Monday to close schools and district offices Tuesday. . At the time, it still looked like there was a possibility the county could feel serious effects from the storm.

Instead, Fay veered to the east as it crept up Florida, sparing Pasco from severe weather during what would have been Tuesday's school hours.

A school board meeting that had been scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday was postponed until Aug. 26.

Attendance in Pasco schools was less than anticipated for the first day on Monday. Countywide, 63,072 students showed up, which was 378 more than on the first day last year.

The school district was projected to grow by 1,387 students, though, meaning so far Pasco is 1,197 students below what was expected.

District Planning Director Chris Williams wrote in a memorandum to district administrators that parent concerns about the storm might have been a factor in the low opening day numbers, but it's also possible growth was slower than expected.

"We will see how this shakes out with the five-day and 10-day counts," he wrote.

Typically, the district picks up a few hundred extra students by the time of those counts. Enrollment numbers are important because an official head count that takes place in October determines how much funding the district receives from the state.

Williams noted that several elementary schools showed significant reductions. Calusa, Chasco, Cotee River and Fox Hollow elementary schools had a combined loss of 246 students. Hudson Elementary alone lost 118 students.

The district opened two new schools Monday. Veterans Elementary in Wesley Chapel reported 697 students, 65 below its capacity. Crews Lake Middle in Shady Hills had 637 students, well under its 1,306 capacity because the district left considerable room for growth.

As a group, elementary schools saw first-day attendance drop from a year ago, as did high schools. The elementary schools reported 28,213 students, 463 fewer than opening day in 2007. High schools had 18,078 students, down 141.

Middle schools saw growth of 433 students, reporting enrollment of 14,610. The district's four education centers had 603 students, up 40.

Enrollment in charter schools also grew, largely because of the opening of Imagine Charter School at Land O' Lakes. The district reported 1,568 students in charter schools, up 509 from last year. Imagine enrolled 449 students.

Even with the lower-than-expected numbers, most public schools across Pasco County are crowded because the district still is catching up with growth from previous years.

Oakstead Elementary, for example, which opened in Land O' Lakes two years ago with 650 students, reported 1,032 students Monday. Oak- stead, built for 762 students, has 22 portable classrooms to handle the overflow.

Because Oakstead grew so fast, Assistant Superintendent Ray Gadd said, the school district is looking for land to build another elementary school that wasn't in the district's original construction plans.

One of the Oakstead students new to the area and helping the school's enrollment swell is Anthony Oracion, a 5-year-old kindergartner.

Anthony's family moved to Pasco County from Miami this month.

The crowding aside, Anthony's mother is happy to be part of Oakstead. "I looked it up online," Millie Oracion said. "It's an 'A' school."

Anthony's teacher is Jeannette Evans, who works in a four-classroom pod with a team of three other teachers: Beth Byrd, Laura Sprague and Paige Fitterer. Evans and Byrd teach kindergarten while Sprague and Fitterer teach first grade.

Early arriving students sat quietly and colored Monday

As Evans awaited students caught in first-day-of school traffic, she let Anthony and the other early arrivals color quietly.

"Does it get any better that that?" Evans said. "Just look at them."

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT