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School Gets Help With Bees

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By LIZ BLEAU, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

TAMPA - While most of the country is suffering from a lack of pollinating honey bees, Limona Elementary has too many.

The school board voted Tuesday to seek litigation against a nearby apiary whose bees, it says, are stinging students and staff and leaving fecal deposits on people and cars.

There was no discussion on the item that was approved as part of the consent agenda.

Limona Principal Karen Pierson said that for several years students, faculty and staff have had to deal with the presence of the bees.

She said the problem is erratic; some days there are none, other days there are swarms.

She did not have exact numbers at hand, but last year compared the number of students with bee stings at Limona with other schools and Limona had many more sting reports.

Pierson said she had spoken with the owners of the nearby hives, but nothing has been done to alleviate the problem.
School board attorney Tom Gonzalez did not return phone calls seeking information on the legal action. The board's action approved the hiring of Clark Jordan-Holmes of the firm Joyner & Jordan-Holmes to handle the suit that "would seek injunctive and other relief from those responsible for the situation at the school," the agenda states.

A county agricultural Web site lists Grande Apiary nearby on Telfair Road. The apiary has hives piled along pine-needle pathways in forestland not far from the school. Steve Grande, listed as a contact for the apiary, did not return phone calls.

$1.4 Million Settlement Approved

In other action, the school board voted to approve a $1.4 million settlement for the rebuilding of Symmes Elementary School. Several members were unhappy with the settlement because the rebuilding had cost the district an estimated $5 million.

The school's media center and a classroom building were demolished and rebuilt after walls cracked and buckled. For two years, more than half of the school's 600 students were forced into portable classrooms.

The problem was attributed to a high level of clay content in underground soil, Gonzales said, something that could not be easily detected before construction.

School board chairwoman Jennifer Faliero disapproved of the action.

"I am disappointed in the outcome of this and do not understand the logic of counsel not finding fault; all you had to do was walk out there and look," she said.

Gonzalez said the board could vote to litigate, but there would be no guarantee of any money.

Board members April Griffin and Susan Valdes said the problems at Symmes should serve as a lesson and the board should use what happened there to research ways to prevent future incidents.

5 Principals Chosen

The school board also approved these staff appointments:

•Resource teacher Kristine Hensley was chosen as the district's supervisor of career and technical education.

•Spoto High School department head Christopher Jargo was chosen as supervisor of business technology education.

•Aparicio-Levy Technical Center Assistant Principal AnnMarie Courtney was chosen as principal of Aparicio-Levy.

•Symmes Elementary Assistant Principal Michael Engle was chosen as principal at Lopez Elementary.

•Martinez Middle School Principal Kathy Flanagan was chosen as principal at the new Smith Middle School.

•Joanne Griffiths, assistant principal at Twin Lakes Elementary School, was chosen as principal of Cahoon Elementary Magnet School.

•Ann Rushing, assistant principal at Springhead Elementary, was chosen as principal at Springhead.

Reporter Liz Bleau can be reached at lbleau@tampatrib.com or (813) 865-1557.

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