Parents Get Crash Course In Hubris 101

Hillsborough school officials know that changing a school's attendance boundary can throw families into a tizzy. Yet the district continues to go out of its way to marginalize and antagonize parents who express concerns about a shuffle.

It's happening again with a proposed boundary change in New Tampa. The district wants to move more than 300 students from Witter and Shaw elementary schools near the University of South Florida, to Clark and Hunter's Green elementary schools in New Tampa.

District officials know they must involve parents for boundary changes to go over well. Yet families in New Tampa were kept out of the meetings where the proposed shifts were discussed.

Apparently the district has a policy that invites families to informational meetings if their child faces a transfer, but excludes families whose children attend the receiving school.

When Clark parent Suzanne Sloss tried to get her school board representative, Jack Lamb, to meet with concerned parents, he said no. Lamb told us the board's policy is to not meet with parents, but to hear from them right before the board votes.

Lamb says he told the parents to contact the two administrators in charge of boundary changes. But Sloss said those officials brushed her off, too.

The New Tampa families have been unfairly tagged as elitists. Given the behavior of school officials, it appears they're the ones who should climb down from the pedestal.

This school district cannot ask parents to devote their time and energy into building top-notch schools and then tell them to sit down and shut up if they have questions.

Lamb seems all too eager to dismiss the New Tampa parents - even suggesting that some are racially motivated in their opposition. Yet both Clark and Hunter's Green are racially diverse. The parents' questions center mostly on whether these high-achieving schools are prepared to accept children with lagging academic skills.

Remember, in this FCAT-crazed environment, schools are most harshly judged on the performance of their lowest-performing students. This reality affects how teachers spend their time - and it doesn't always benefit students who are advanced learners.

The parents wanted information. Not all of them are necessarily opposed to the boundary changes.

By purposely excluding New Tampa families and refusing to answer their questions, the school district undermines the bridge-building transition that would have benefited children from both New Tampa and the University area.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Apparently in Hillsborough, a few arrogant administrators will suffice.