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Gulfside Elementary School

Bilirakis looking for ‘Heroes Among Us’

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U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis is looking for nominations for the second annual Heroes Among Us event.

Nine-year-old Selena Schulz wrote a book about helping shelter animals. She was honored by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis in his ‘Heroes Among Us’ program.
(Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis)

The event honors men and women who make communities within Florida’s 12th congressional district special.

It aims to recognize those who are dedicated to good deeds, volunteerism and going above and beyond to serve others.

“We all know that the Tampa Bay Area is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family. It’s time we recognize the individuals who help make our community so special. If you know somebody who makes a positive difference for others, I encourage you to nominate them to receive a Heroes Among Us award,” Bilirakis said, in a news release announcing the call for nominations.

Last year’s honorees included:

  • Selena Schulz: This 9-year-old author from Pasco County wrote “A Bed, a Buck, a Buddy” about helping shelter animals. She raised $1,500 in donations to the Pasco County Animal Shelter.
  • Bob O’Brien and Vince Blancato: These teachers at Gulfside Elementary School in Holiday help students understand the benefits of growing and eating vegetables.
  • Susan Traylor: This registered nurse in Pasco County founded Wellness Ministries, a charity that helps provide local homeless or vulnerable individuals with health care, transportation, clothing, and job resources.
  • Marie Whitney and Lee Pagill: These were the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Unit Volunteers of the Year in 2015
  • Paula and Barry Cohen: These are the founders of the PACK Camp, a nonprofit summer camp for special needs children in Pasco County.
  • Nancy Crane and Sarah Page: These women work at Quantum Leap Farm in Odessa, a nonprofit that provides therapeutic horseback riding for adults and children with mental/physical disabilities, including Veterans.

Nominations for this year’s award must be submitted by March 31.

Marie Whitney and Lee Pagill, who were the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Unit Volunteers of the Year in 2015, were also recognized for their contributions by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis.

Submissions can be emailed to Tucker O’Brien at .

They should include the nominee’s name, email address, phone number and reasons why he or she should be recognized.

Last year, about 100 citizens were honored with a Heroes Among Us award at a ceremony in the district. The congressman will host a ceremony recognizing nominees later this spring.

Published March 8, 2017

Some oppose planned Quail Hollow school boundaries

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When Pasco County School Board members consider proposed boundary changes for Quail Hollow Elementary School in January, they’ll likely hear from parents who oppose the idea of shifting their children from Wesley Chapel Elementary to the reconstructed school.

Buses will line up once again next school year when the massively remodeled Quail Hollow Elementary School reopens its doors. It was closed to create more traditional classroom spaces to replace its former ‘open’ design. (File Photo)
Buses will line up once again next school year when the massively remodeled Quail Hollow Elementary School reopens its doors. It was closed to create more traditional classroom spaces to replace its former ‘open’ design. (File Photo)

About three-dozen parents and students turned out for a Dec. 8 community meeting to discuss Quail Hollow’s proposed boundary, and some parents made it clear they don’t want their children transferred out of Wesley Chapel Elementary, Pasco County Schools planning director Chris Williams said.

Quail Hollow, at 7050 Quail Hollow Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, has been closed for a massive reconstruction project, and will reopen next fall. When it does, the school will have classroom doors and walls, unlike its previous “open design,” and will have updated technology.

A committee has been working on recommending proposed boundaries, which the school board is expected to consider at its 6 p.m. hearing on Jan. 20. A second and final vote is expected at the board’s Feb. 3 meeting.

The school will have more capacity than it did before. The proposed boundaries call for shifting some students there from Wesley Chapel and Veterans elementary schools. The Veterans students would come from an area that includes the Pasco Woods apartments, Williams said.

The area that would shift Wesley Chapel to Quail Hollow includes the neighborhoods of Wesley Pointe, Villages at Wesley Chapel, Citrus Trace and Saddleridge Estates.

There are 62 students living in the area that would be reassigned from Veterans to Quail Hollow, Williams said. There are 100 students living in the area that would be reassigned from Wesley Chapel to Quail Hollow.

Veterans has a capacity of 762 students, but currently has 828, including pre-kindergarten. So, Williams said, Veterans already is over capacity and could use relief.

Wesley Chapel Elementary has a capacity of 613 students, but will have far fewer students when children who attended Quail Hollow return to their school. However, Quail Hollow has space to accommodate a greater number of children, so the committee recommended reassigning students from Wesley Chapel to Quail Hollow to provide room for growth that is expected to result from the development of Epperson Ranch South near Overpass Road.

Some parents at the community meeting voiced concerns about shifting the communities north of State Road 54 and west of Interstate 75, Williams said. Quail Hollow is a little more than a mile farther away, but parents are concerned about the traffic congestion they could encounter along State Road 54 through Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

Another concern raised at the meeting relates to the difference in Wesley Chapel and Quail Hollow’s performance. Wesley Chapel is an A school, based on the state’s criteria. Quail Hollow was a C school.

Beyond boundary changes, the district still needs to name a new principal for Quail Hollow. Superintendent Kurt Browning had intended to recommend Lane Morris, assistant principal at Gulfside Elementary School, as Quail Hollow’s principal. But Browning put that recommendation on hold after Gulfside principal Chris Clayton was placed on administrative leave pending investigation of reports he violated school district policy.

District officials do not anticipate Clayton returning to Gulfside, said Pasco County Schools spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said.

The Pasco County School Board is scheduled to take an initial vote on proposed boundary changes affecting Quail Hollow, Wesley Chapel and Veterans elementary schools at the board’s 6 p.m. meeting on Jan. 20.

The final vote is expected at the board’s 9:30 a.m. meeting on Feb. 3.

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Super snacks coming to select Pasco schools

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Pasco County is getting the chance to test a new after-school meals pilot program with the new offering of a “super snack” at select schools in the district.

A component of the Child Care Food program, it’s designed to provide nutritious snacks and meals to children in after-school programs. It’s funded through the U.S. Department of Health — unlike the school meal program, which is done with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

While the new “super snack” program is primarily same as the existing snack program, the select schools will now be able to offer five components for a snack, instead of two, according to a release. That’s because schools and the district’s food and nutrition department felt that the smaller snack was not enough for many of the kids at schools where more than half the students already receive free or reduced lunches.

Those who can participate in the snack program must be enrolled in an approved after-school or extended-day program. Snacks are available at no separate charge to children at the following sites:

• Anclote High School, 1540 Sweetbriar Drive, Holiday
• Cox Elementary School, 37615 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dade City
• Crews Lake Middle School, 15144 Shady Hills Road, Spring Hill
• Gulf Middle School, 6419 Louisiana Ave., New Port Richey
• Gulfside Elementary School, 2329 Anclote Blvd., Holiday
• Hudson Middle School, 14540 Cobra Way, Hudson
• Lacoochee Elementary School, 38815 Cummer Road, Dade City
• Pasco High School, 36850 State Road 52, Dade City
• Smith Middle School, 1410 Sweetbriar Drive, Holiday
• Stewart Middle School, 38505 10th Ave., Zephyrhills
• Taylor Elementary School, 3638 Morris Bridge Road, Zephyrhills
• Woodland Elementary School, 38203 Henry Drive, Zephyrhills

Extended school days lead to parent information nights

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Pasco County Schools will host information nights for parents at Lacoochee, Cox and Gulfside elementary schools over the next few days, to share details on how the extended school day is going to work.

The sessions are scheduled for Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. at Lacoochee Elementary School, 38815 Cummer Road, in Dade City, and at Cox Elementary School Aug. 11 at 6 p.m., at 37615 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Dade City.

The Gulfside Elementary School session is scheduled for Aug. 7 and Aug. 7 at 6 p.m., first at the school at 2329 Anclote Blvd., in Holiday, and then at Weston Oaks Apartments the second night at 1251 Weston Oaks Drive in Holiday.

The schools are required by the state to add an hour of reading instruction to their school day for fourth- and fifth-graders after it finished among the lowest 300 performing schools in the state when it comes to reading. Among those students, only those who scored lower than Level 5 on the FCAT reading exam will need to stay later.

Students in kindergarten through third grade already exceed the required 900 hours of instruction per year, so they will not need to be extended. However, the reaming students require a minimum of 1,080 hours of instruction annually.

All students will start at the time they started school last year, and most of the school will end at the same time as last year. However, those affected by the changes will see their school day extend by approximately 50 minutes.