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Buses, SpringBoard Dominate Elia's 'Open Mike' Night

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By LAURA FRAZIER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 9, 2008

BRANDON - About 250 people crowded into the cafeteria at Burns Middle School on Monday for the second in a series of seven town hall meetings Superintendent MaryEllen Elia called "open mike time."

The vast majority of those in the crowd were teachers, principals and school district employees, but several parents expressed frustration with the district's bus situation.

Parent Sheryl Hickle said she spent four months trying to reach the transportation department for information about her child's bus stop. She said a district official looked at an online satellite image of her neighborhood and told her, "There's a nice, wide paved area for your child to stand in" and wait for the bus.

"That nice, wide area is a right-turn lane," Hickle told Elia. "You can't tell me they know what they're doing by sitting at a computer."

Elia told parents with similar concerns that the district has logged some 300 requests from parents to check out specific areas and has already changed about 80 stops.

Several parents stepped up to express concerns about SpringBoard, a new program for middle and high school students. Elia said the program is designed to better prepare students for college by directing them into more Advanced Placement classes and teaching them higher-order thinking skills.

Parent Dee Prether, waving a SpringBoard workbook in the air, said, "I am deeply concerned about this curriculum. The solution? Throw this away today."

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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