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Schools Chief Still Trying To Improve Communication

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By MARILYN BROWN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 16, 2008

TAMPA - Lack of communication.

It's often the official answer when things go sour in Hillsborough County schools.

When another class period was added to the day for high school teachers in 2007, and a new middle and high school curriculum program adopted, district officials admitted that communication was poor.

In late August, as the current school bus debacle unfolded, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia apologized for the late notification to parents, schools and bus drivers and a lack of staff to answer phones.

After every communications miscue, there follows a promise to do better.

"We need to do a better job giving information to parents and our principals next year," Elia said at a town hall meeting Sept. 2.

At a town hall meeting a week ago, when a parent complained about communications, saying, "We are not part of the process," Elia responded, "You're absolutely right — we've got to get better at that."

In fact, the only real criticism school board members have of Elia's management has focused on communication.

So, how is it going to improve? Who is responsible for communications anyway?

Elia said several steps have been taken to improve internal and external communication, but added, "I don't think there is a single plan" to improving communication.

"Obviously we're looking at what we can do to expand opportunities we have to communicate with parents." Pushed for specifics she said, "As a district, we have to become attentive to making sure all of the staff and schools sites, leadership in the district, are more effective getting information to employees and groups."

There is not a single person or department responsible for communication, Elia said. "Each division and department to an extent is responsible for the communication," she said.

The district's 28-person communications department works with all divisions to coordinate efforts, she said.

Communications Director Steve Hegarty, hired by Elia after she took over as superintendent in 2005, is paid $101,000 a year and supervises both external and internal communications. Three managers are paid more than $70,000 a year.

The rest of the communications department includes a Web service supervisor and a computer programmer, three resource teachers, technical staff, two secretaries, three switchboard operators, clerks and a supervisor and seven printers in the district's print shop.

The department includes internal operations such as the district's e-mail system and printing, and external communications such as press releases. It also administers the ParentLink automated phone system and coordinates meetings at schools.

Lately, district officials more often try to funnel media inquiries through the communications department to control the information flow.

Elia said she communicates with staff and parents in a number of ways. She said she has kept in contact with employees about the district's financial situation for the past six to eight months with pop-up messages on their e-mail.

And, she said, she meets with district staff and leadership, and holds small focus groups for employees, meets three times a year with National Board Certified teachers, meets monthly with officers of the Hillsborough County Council of PTAs monthly and will meet with any PTA or parent group on request.

The district's communications has been of concern to teachers and parents, who say they are left in the dark about matters that concern them.

Many parents started this school year spending days trying to get through to the district's transportation center by phone and because they still didn't have information on bus stops after classes started, some drove to the district's transportation center in Thonotosassa.

Most recently, a handful of parents who showed up at Elia's first town hall meeting said they had no notice of the meeting, held at Hillsborough High School on Sept. 2. The Tampa Tribune received a press release at noon the day of the 7 p.m. meeting.

The district's ParentLink was not used to notify parents of that meeting, the day after Labor Day, but has been used to alert parents of subsequent meetings, Hegarty said.

Board member April Griffin praised Elia for keeping employees informed about the district's financial situation this year, as the board requested.

But, she said, some school board members don't always get all of the information they want and ask for.

"I've had trouble getting information since I have been a board member," said Griffin, who was elected in 2006. "I ask for things and sometimes it takes weeks to get it. I've asked for reports that I have not received to this day."

"Communication is very selective in this district," said Griffin, who has often been at odds with Elia. "If you're in their favor the communication seems to be a lot more open and a lot quicker."

Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.

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