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The LAKER WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
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Boundaries approved for new schools By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The Pasco County School Board has approved boundaries for the new Cypress Creek Middle/High School, despite considerable controversy. The board also adopted boundaries for Bexley Elementary School, without any opposition from the public. Cypress Creek Middle/High School, being built off Old Pasco Road, is scheduled to open in fall 2017. Initially, it will be for students in grades six through 11, but it will add grade 12 during the second year.
By Kevin Weiss
COPPERSTONE
What would Dr. Martin Luther King have to say if he was alive today? One distinguished scholar has a theory. Saint Leo University hosted Dr. T. Leon Williams on Jan. 16 for a presentation he called: “The View from the Mountaintop: What Would Dr. King Say Today?” Williams is a North Carolina minister and former multicultural affairs director at Elon University. He began a series of monologues in 1999, in the vein of MLK — with the hope of educating students on the life and legacy of the celebrated civil rights leader. Though it’s been nearly 50 years since King’s assassination in 1968, Williams said America is still struggling with many of the same issues that confronted the nation a half-century ago. Williams cited numerous systemic problems, including racial tension, gun violence, black-on-black crime, police brutality, and poverty. Because of the continuing issues, Williams said the country is still in the midst of the civil rights movement. “If (King) was here today — based on what we see today on TV — I think he would just be devastated,” Williams said.“I think Dr. King would be saying,‘America, we have fallen apart, and we’ve got to get it together.” During his hour-long presentation, Williams assumed the persona of King, reflecting on the historical relevance of America’s progress on race divisions. During the talk, Williams claimed injus-
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There won’t be a senior class the first year because this year’s crop of juniors will be allowed to complete their high school career at their current school. The board adopted Cypress Creek’s boundary on a 4-1 vote, with Steve Luikart dissenting. Luikart said he thinks the district can find a better way to reassign students that would avoid disrupting students’ lives. “Have we done the very best we can in looking at rezonings? I have reservations there,” Luikart said. But, board vice chairman Cynthia Armstrong, and board members Colleen Beaudoin and Alison Crumbley said they
have to do what’s best for the majority of the district’s students. Beaudoin said:“It’s our job on the board to look at the big picture.” “No decision that we make is going to make everybody happy,”Armstrong said. Crumbley said she doesn’t want to move students at all, but the district’s robust growth gives it no choice. Board Chairman Allen Altman also noted he had received hundreds of emails and heard scores of proposals. Altman added:The one thing they had in See BOUNDARIES, page 15A
Monologue honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Walk-Ins Welcome
EXECUTIVE SUITES
JANUARY 25, 2017
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
COURTESY OF AMANDA TOPPER, SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY
On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Saint Leo University hosted Dr. T. Leon Williams, who presented ‘The View from the Mountaintop: What Would Dr. King Say Today?’
tice and inequality has drawn a line of division in race relations and the distribution of wealth in America. The speaker later challenged the audience to accept a moral and social responsibility for promoting peace and harmony. He urged them:“Ask ‘What is my responsibility in reshaping the world?’” The biggest challenge, however, is for members of the audience to love another — regardless of race or class. “The problem in our world today is that
we have very little remembrance of what love is,” Williams said. “Love is caring for homeless and those less fortunate. Love is feeding the hungry. Love is obedience over sacrifice. Love neutralizes the weapons of hate.” Williams, too, advised the audience to open themselves up to new ideas. He encouraged them to read information that might differ from their current point-ofview. See MONOLOGUE, page 15A
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KEVIN WEISS
The Pasco County Legislative Delegation had a pre-legislative session on Jan. 18 at Sunlake High School. From left, on the dais, are Richard Corcoran, incoming Speaker of the House for the Florida House of Representatives, and State Reps. Tom Ley, Danny Burgess, State Sen. Wilton Simpson, State Rep. Amber Mariano, and State Sen. Jack Latvala.
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Education a key theme for upcoming session By Kevin Weiss
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Education was a recurring theme among speakers at a recent meeting held by the Pasco County Legislative Delegation before this year’s annual session. Local citizens and civic leaders voiced their concerns on this hot-button issue during a Jan. 18 gathering at Sunlake High School, with six local representatives to the state Legislature. Dozens of interest groups and local government leaders also talked to legislators about their priorities for the legislative delegation. Rising school enrollment and additional education funding were just two topics raised during the four-hour meeting with
State Sens.Wilton Simpson and Jack Latvala, incoming Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran, and State Reps. Tom Ley, Danny Burgess and Amber Mariano. Spencer Pylant, speaking on behalf of Superintendent Kurt Browning for the Pasco County School District, talked to the delegates about concerns increasing school enrollments and the lack of funding to provide adequate school capacity. “It’s fitting the delegation is meeting at this school, because it rests in one of the highest-growing segments of Pasco County,” Pylant said. “After opening 10 years ago, it is at 114 percent capacity; this additional growth demands additional capacity,” he said. Pylant said 1,707 new students chose Pasco schools in the 2016-2017 school year.
That’s only a preview of things to come, he added. “We expect approximately 20,000 new students in 10 years, based on our projections,” he said. School board members and district officials are concerned that current funding sources cannot match the growing demand. He presented two suggestions: • Restore the authority of the school boards to levy—by simple majority vote — up to 2.0 mills for capital purposes. • Provide Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funding for school construction. “A balanced capital funding stream is necessary to provide a proper learning enviSee EDUCATION, page 15A