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WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
FEBRUARY 18, 2015
Montessori charter school to open this fall By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
When school begins in the fall, a new educational option will be available for parents of children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Garden Montessori School has been approved as a charter school in Pasco County, meaning that there’s no tuition for children attending the school. The new charter has its roots in a private pre-school and kindergarten that has been offering the Montessori approach to education since 2009. Parents of some of those children were interested in continuing to pursue that type of education in elementary school, and the school sought permission from Pasco County to open a charter elementary school. “It’s going to continue the Montessori that’s here,” said John Selover, a consultant to the school. “The genesis of the (charter) school was that a lot of the parents here were very interested in continuing the Montessori PHOTO COURTESY OF GARDEN MONTESSORI SCHOOL method of instruction. Montessori is much Lilly Selover attends the private pre-school that has inspired the creation of Garden more than a method. It’s kind of a culture of See MONTESSORI, page7A
Montessori Charter School which will open this fall in Wesley Chapel. Deadline for applications is Feb. 27.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY
William J. “Bill” Lennox, Jr. addresses the audience at the Feb. 6 announcement of his selection as the next president of SaintLeo University. He’ll start work later this summer.
Meet Saint Leo’s new president: William J. Lennox, Jr. By Michael Murillo
United States Army three-star lieutenant general, has been named as the ninth president in the university’s history. He was introWhen Saint Leo University began the duced at a campus news conference on search for its next president, it knew it was Feb. 6. He assumes his new post this sumlooking for a star. mer. Instead, the search committee found “It feels great,” Lennox said about taking three stars. on his new job. “I think it’s an amazing instiWilliam J. “Bill” Lennox, Jr., a retired tution.”
mmurillo@lakerlutznews.com
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Lennox is familiar with Saint Leo University. He served on the school’s board of trustees for six years before deciding to take on the president’s role. Lennox has been part of the selection process from its inception, but not always in the role of a candidate for the job. See PRESIDENT, page7A
Charter government discussions continue in Pasco By Kathy Steele Winner 2012, 2013, 2014
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B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County commissioners spent nearly three hours at a special workshop on Feb 12 learning about the intricacies of the process for putting a charter-style form of government on the ballot, but they still have more to talk about. So they decided to take it up again at a Feb. 17 workshop. Commissioners could decide to vote on an ordinance to establish a charter advisory committee and that action could be decided at the commissioners’ Feb. 24 meeting. But the debate over the issue of shifting to a charter-style form of government could play out for months, and the earliest that voters are likely to weigh in on the matter would be in a referendum on the 2016 general election ballot. The idea of adopting an ordinance to appoint an advisory committee emerged
during the Feb. 12 workshop. That approach gives commissioners more control of the charter process than an autonomous charter commission. The issue is sparking interest. More than 50 people filled the commission chambers at the Feb. 12 workshop. Pasco County Clerk and Comptroller Paula S. O’Neil, Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano, Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley and Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning were there, in addition to a number of residents who are interested in the issue. Ginger Delegal, general counsel for the Florida Association of Counties, provided a primer on charter governments and Kurt Spitzer, a Tallahassee-based private consultant, provided insights on how charter governments operate in various counties across Florida. Pasco now operates with five county commissioners elected countywide, and an
“What is the agenda? I cannot understand what is driving this because I don’t believe right now it’s the people of Pasco.” — Pat Mulieri
appointed county administrator. In recent months, State Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, has advocated to give Pasco voters the option of changing to a charter style of government which could allow for such things as single-member districts for county commissioners, term limits, an elected county administrator or an elected county mayor. Twenty of the state’s 67 counties operate See CHARTER, page7A