LAND O' LAKES - A defunct charter school that filed a lawsuit seeking damages against the Pasco County School District instead must pay the district $93,499 that the school owed when it closed in 2003, a circuit judge has ruled. In his ruling, Circuit Court Judge Stanley R. Mills wrote that Deerwood Academy was overpaid when the district gave the school its per-student funding. The school received $292,863, but didn't enroll enough students to earn that amount and should have been given $199,364, Mills wrote. ...more

June 12, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Assistant principals may have only themselves to blame if people think they are expendable. ...more

June 4, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - The Pasco County School District may crack down on cell-phone use in middle and high schools in an effort to put a halt to students using text messaging to cheat on tests. ...more

June 3, 2008

The Pasco County School District may crack down on cell-phone use in middle and high schools in an effort to put a halt to students using text messaging to cheat on tests. Board member Allen Altman said at a Tuesday board meeting that several teachers told him students learn what's on a test in messages from friends who took the exam during the previous class period. He said the district needs to take action to make sure the cheating doesn't continue. "It's not fair to students who are doing things the right way," Altman said. It's also not fair to the teachers, he said. " ...more

June 3, 2008

The Pasco County School District will hold a town-hall meeting Monday to seek input on the district's plan for making sure schools teach students the skills employers want. ...more

June 1, 2008

Pasco School District officials will pick the brains of area business leaders Monday. The educators are trying to tailor curriculum to meet the needs of the Pasco job market. We hope both sides approach this task with open minds. ...more

May 31, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Athletics has always served as a microcosm of life for its participants. When things go awry, on or off the field, adjust and move forward. ...more

May 22, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - After exploring the minutiae of an anticipated $16 million shortfall in the Pasco County School District's 2008-09 budget for more than two hours Tuesday, school board vice chairman Frank Parker said he felt pessimistic. ...more

May 21, 2008

The Pundit of Parker Street has noticed the employment policies of the Pasco County school district, and he is not amused. Thursday, he seized on the storied dismissal of Jim Piculas, a substitute teacher with a talent for minor prestidigitation, and pinned it to the cover of the Metro section as a prime example of how civilization is replaced by foamy-mouthed superstition at the northern edge of County Line Road. ...more

May 18, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - The Pasco County School District needs to trim spending by nearly $16 million to cover an anticipated shortfall in the 2008-09 budget, Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said Wednesday. ...more

May 8, 2008