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Colleges return, with social distancing
By Joey Johnston Special to The Laker/Lutz News
With COVID-19 safety protocols in place and enrollments either declining or flat, Pasco County’s colleges and universities have welcomed back students for the fall semester. Whether it was Saint Leo University or the campuses at Pasco-Hernando State College, most courses were offered online to keep class sizes small. Zoom video conferencing technology was utilized for full interactivity, while hybrid/in-person attendance demanded face masks, hand-sanitizing and social distancing. Seat configurations were redone. Plexiglass shields were installed in hightransaction, high-touch point areas. Some student activities were abandoned, while
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others were offered virtually. “The keyword for everyone these days is flexibility,’’ said Saint Leo Senior Vice
President Melanie Storms.“Of course, there will be a learning curve. But we’re very comfortable with what we’re doing.’’ After a record-breaking 2019, which featured a 40% enrollment increase, Storms said Saint Leo will have the same number of new students (1,000) as last fall.There is a 30% reduction in new international students and a 10% decrease in students living on the main campus. Enrollment in Saint Leo’s online programs are up 16% over last year. “We got out early with a plan and were very transparent with our students about what we were planning to do,’’ Storms said. “We often talk (in the administration) and wonder what our enrollment might have been had there not been COVID.We might have seen another pretty substantial inSee COLLEGES, page 11A
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Students gather with face masks at Saint Leo University.
Pasco seeks to forbid School begins in Pasco and Hillsborough counties pet stores from selling cats and dogs State teacher’s union wins motion for temporary injunction; impacts not yet clear By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
B 100TH ANNIVERSARY INSIDE, PAGE 1B
Students headed back to classrooms in Pasco County this week and began learning online for the first week of classes in Hillsborough County — while the impact of a temporary injunction and from a pending legal action are not yet clear. In response to lawsuits filed by the Florida Education Association and individual plaintiffs, the Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson granted a motion for a temporary injunction against Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran’s executive order. “The order is unconstitutional to the extent it arbitrarily disregards safety, denies local school boards decision making with respect to opening brick and mortar schools, and conditions funding on an approved reopening plan with a start date in August,” the judge’s order says. It remains to be seen how the decision will play out in Pasco County, where brickand-mortar schools have reopened, and in Hillsborough, where they are scheduled to do so on Aug. 31. In their closing arguments on Aug. 21, lawyers for the Florida Education Association, as well as for individual plaintiffs, argued that the state’s Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran’s Emergency Order 6 was “arbitrary and capricious” and, therefore, unconstitutional. The order required school districts to submit reopening plans, which included opening every brick-and-mortar school for five days a week, with the school year starting by the end of August. Kendall B. Coffey, an attorney representing the teachers union, said the state’s order “completely ignored safety.We all agree that a safe education is a paramount duty under the Florida Constitution.” The state used “financial bullying” to coerce districts to comply with the order, Coffey said. He noted what happened in Hillsborough County.
The board approved a reopening plan, which the state subsequently approved. Then, the board heard from a panel of medical experts, who advised against reopening classrooms, until COVID-19 positivity cases declined. The board then voted to open online only for the first four weeks, before activating the previously approved plan. The state rejected Hillsborough’s decision. A letter from Corcoran told the district it would need to submit another plan, which justified any proposed closure, on a schoolby-school, grade-by-grade and classroom-by-classroom basis. The district ultimately agreed with state officials to open the school year online only for one week and then reopen brick-andmortar schools. But, that decision came after financial pressure from the state, Coffey said. “We know that Hillsborough was threatened with losing $200 million.” The attorney said it would serve the public interest to allow local school districts to determine when it safe to return to school, without risk of financial penalty. Attorney David Wells and Nathan Hill, representing the defendants, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Corcoran, said the state was acting under its authority to supervise the state’s 67 school districts. They said the emergency order considers a range of student needs. “What are the dangers of not going back to school?” Wells asked. “What happens when children have to learn from home?” Besides offering the educational benefits of face-to-face instruction, schools provide a wide range of other services for students, Wells said. Schools ensure students have access to meals, provide services for special needs students and offer an opportunity for intervention when students need protection in abusive homes, or require mental health services. Remote learning, by contrast, raises issues over whether families have enough digital devices to meet individual student needs, and whether households have internet access, he said. See SCHOOL, page 11A
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County is seeking to stop the sale of dogs, cats, puppies and kittens from retail pet stores. The Pasco County Commission, during its Aug. 4 meeting, heard the introduction of an amendment to a county ordinance — that would enact the new restriction. Commissioners are scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposal at their Sept. 8 meeting, at the Historic Pasco County Courthouse, 37918 Meridian Ave., in downtown Dade City. Mike Shumate, the county’s director of animal services, told commissioners the proposed change aims “to restrict the retail sale of dogs and cats, puppies and kittens, from pet stores — especially those intentionally selling from large, commercial breeders, outof-state breeders, puppy mills, primarily.” Shumate said the proposed ordinance change is consistent with his department’s mission to protect people and pets, within the community. The new restriction is needed, Shumate said, because a significant number of puppies and kittens sold at pet stores come from out-of-state large-scale breeding facilities where the health and welfare of animals is not provided adequately. Shumate said:“There’s documented abuses — endemic of the puppy and kitten mills — including overbreeding, inbreeding, minimal to nonexistent veterinary care, lack of nutritious food, water and shelter, lack of socialization, adequate space and exercise. “The inhuman conditions of puppy mills and kitten mills often lead to health and behavioral issues,” he added. And, that becomes a problem for future pet owners, the animal services director said. “Consumers are often unaware of these issues when purchasing their animals from pet stores,” Shumate said. Pet owners do have some recourse because there’s state law that puts restrictions and requirements on those importing animals from out-of-state, Shumate said. That See PET STORES, page 11A