School Board Agenda Items of Interest to Brandon Residents

The Hillsborough County School Board meets Jan. 18 at 3 p.m. at the Raymond O. Shelton School Administrative Center for its first general meeting of the new year.

We combed the agenda to find facts, dates of tidbits of interest to Greater Brandon parents and students, the kind of items that don't necessarily garner a lot of attention and that inevitably receive rubber-stamp approval.

Here’s a quick look at five things you might like to know.   

1. The Hillsborough County School Board undoubtedly will agree to proclaim the week starting Monday as “Celebrate Literacy Week.” It’s a no-brainer, given it's a State of Florida initiative and its intent is “to promote the enjoyment of reading for children and adults of all ages” and to recognize that “reading is the foundation for academic success leading to college and career-ready high school graduates.” The week runs from Jan. 24-28.
2. Each public school in Florida is required to appoint a School Advisory Committee and that committee is required every year to prepare and submit to the state a School Improvement Plan (SIP). The school board will officially accept those reports at its Jan. 18 meeting and each report is available for viewing on the Florida Department of Education Web site. Each report is accessible, too, via the Hillsborough County School District Web site. Click on “schools” to find the school you are looking for and on the main page for that school scroll down until you see the SIP link. Plans are available from the 2005-06 school year to the present.
3. The School Board will enter into agreement with the Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) to host, at the University of Tampa Pepin-Rood Stadium, the FHSAA Girls Soccer and FHSAA Boys Soccer state championship finals this year and next. The 2011 dates are Feb. 9-12, for the girls; Feb. 16-19, for the boys. The 2012 dates are Feb. 8-11 for the girls; Feb. 15-18, for the boys.
4. The School Board will agree to pay $15,500 to rent space in the Tampa Convention Center, Feb. 13-15, for the Hillsborough County Regional Science and Engineering Fair.
5. The 2010 Great American Teach-In, held in November, attracted 6,591 speakers to the district’s elementary schools; 1,862 speakers to its middle schools; 739 speakers to its high school and technical and adult centers; and 320 speakers to its special centers. Overall, there were 9,512 speakers responsible for 21,839 presentations, including 10 speakers at Armwood High and 21 speakers at Brandon High. Area middle schools reported speaker counts of 54 at Burns, 30 at Mann, 42 at McLane, 45 at Mulrennan and 40 at Progress Village. Area elementary schools reported speaker counts of 74 at Brooker, 65 at Buckhorn, 17 at Dover, 30 at Kingswood, 50 at Limona, 23 at Mango, 30 at Mintz, 38 at Schmidt, 52 at Seffner, 47 at Valrico and 57 at Yates. Schools at each level with the top number of speakers: Blake High (51), Farnell Middle (96) and FishHawk Creek Elementary (146).