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Pinellas Weighs Bus Routes, School Closings

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON

sthompson@tampatrib.com

Published: December 3, 2008

LARGO - With the student population in Pinellas County schools expected to plummet by 10,000 in five years, school administrators on Tuesday put forth a range of cost-cutting proposals, including cutting and shortening bus routes and closing elementary schools.

One plan that school board members discussed would cut off bus transportation for elementary or middle school students who attend schools other than their zoned school.

Under another plan, transportation would be denied to so-called grandfathered students - those who don't attend their zoned school but rather one designated under the school choice program, which is no longer in effect.

"Do we spend our money on buses, or do we spend our money on making our schools better?" school Superintendent Julie Janssen asked the school board.

Some school board members wondered aloud which students would be affected most by the proposed transportation changes. School board member Linda Lerner said poor students, whose parents often don't have the luxury of transporting them, would lose out.

"People in higher socio-economic brackets have the kinds of jobs ... to be able to transport their kids," she said.

The other cost-cutting measure discussed was the proposed closure of a half-dozen elementary schools. No decisions on either transportation or school closings were made. The school board is expected to discuss the proposed measures at a meeting Dec. 9.

The schools the board is considering closing are Palm Harbor, Gulf Beaches, North Ward, Kings Highway and Rio Vista elementaries. The board had already agreed to close Clearview Elementary.

If the plan is approved, the six schools would be shut down at the end of this school year, said Jim Madden, assistant superintendent of student assignment. The proposed closings would save about $4.2 million.

Administrators are attempting to shave $40 million from a budget of roughly $1.5 billion.

The proposed transportation changes would save $1.8 million to $11.9 million.

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