A trip to my local school board...

I live in Hernando County Florida, which is about 45 miles north of Tampa. I decided to go on over to the Hernando County school board for my public meeting. I myself am a product of the Hernando county school system, so I found it very interesting to see how much things have changed since I left.
The meetings are held on Tuesday’s, usually twice a month, and the school board members meet to talk about zoning, current issues, future ideas, and then they open the floor to listen to the people who have come to speak.
I arrived about 10 minutes before the meeting began, and needless to say, it was a small crowd. I was one of about 15 people that attended the meeting. I found this to be quite shocking considering the fact that the Hernando County school system is not very small. I took my seat and waited for the meeting to begin.
How can I act surprised? First topic of the evening… swine flu update. Board members gave updates of enrollment it schools and any different precautions, if any, different schools are taking. From my point of view, the board members did not seem to worried about the situation, but I think being in the times we are, it is just standard measures for every meeting.
The meeting then turned to talks of a new high school that the county is building. The school board allowed students, teachers, and faculty members to name the new school. As of the day of the meeting, the voting has been closed and the board will then vote on the name by December 15th.

Other topics later included the budget and then the boards search for the district’s new superintendent. They then broke topic to listen to the small group of parents and faculty members who wanted to talk. Usual topics, swine flu, budget costs

At the end of the meeting, I ran into two third grade teachers who has attended the meeting. I had a quick chit chat with them. I asked them why they came, and they stated they always like to try and attend as many meetings as they can. After a little more small talk I learned that these were not just any normal third grade teachers. They were inclusion class teachers. Inclusion classes were classes mandated by the federal government to give students with mental disabilities a chance to learn in the same classroom as regular students. It was very interesting talking with them. They told me how stressful it can get for them to be able to get these students with mental disabilities to pass the FCAT. I spoke with Mrs. Teresa Young (352)650-5362 and Mrs. Debbie Torres (Who did not supply me her phone number).

Over all I really did learn a lot about how public meetings are held and configured. And overall school board meetings are rather fascinating.