$1 Million In Improvements On The Way For Bratt, Ernest Ward
January 21, 2009
Almost $1 million in expansions are in the works for Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle schools.
With the impending closure of Carver/Century K-8 School, the Escambia County School Board is moving forward with plans to install modular classrooms at the two schools to provide extra space for the Carver/Century students that will be redistricted to the schools.
Plans call for five classrooms with included restrooms, five sinks and two closets to be installed at Bratt Elementary at a total cost of $440,006.
Ernest Ward Middle will receive five classrooms, two closets, and one 24 by 36 foot restroom facility at a total cost of $543,391.
The modular classrooms would be installed prior to the start of the 2009-2010 school year.
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said he realizes that some people will not understand how he could recommend closure of Carver/Century to save $600,000 to $1 million per year and then spend nearly $1 million on the modular classrooms to house the students at other schools.
“You have realize that these modulars are a one time expense, while the losses at Carver/Century are a recurring expense year after year,” Thomas said. “If I overspend $1 million every year, that’s the kind of money that can be put into teacher salaries. The modulars are a one-time expense.”
Thomas said the modulars are not the “portables” that many adults remember from their days in school. Rather, he said, they are high quality near permanent type construction.
Inauguration Diary: Reporters Can’t Get In, Even With Tickets
January 21, 2009
NorthEscambia.com was scheduled to have updates from Washington and the Barack Obama Inauguration on Tuesday. Two million people got into the festivities, while 4,000 people with official tickets did not.
In cooperation with the Pensacola Independent News, we were to have reports during the day from IN staff members Sean Boone and Joani Delzen from the streets of the Washington. But Boone and Delzen made history as part of the 4,000 ticket holders that did not get in.
No One Shows Up For Escambia All For One Meeting
January 21, 2009
No one from the local community showed up for an Escambia All for One public meeting Tuesday night in Walnut Hill.
The group pushing for a consolidated government in Escambia County called the meeting at the Walnut Hill Community Center. They even announced that District 5 Escambia Commissioner Kevin White would attend the meeting.
But when meeting time arrived, the community center was still locked. All for One Co-Chair Jason Crawford, three All for One members/supporters and our NorthEscambia.com reporter were the only ones at an impromptu meeting held outside the community center.
White said he was made aware of the meeting late last week, but he was unable to attend due to concerns about Florida’s Sunshine Law that requires public notice be given prior to commissioners attending public forums. Such forums and meetings, White said, usually appear in a legal notice but there was no time to include the All for One meeting in the weekly legal notice printed in the daily newspaper.
Another informational meeting will be held Wednesday evening at 5:30 at New World Landing in Pensacola. The legislative delegation meeting will be held at 6:00 Friday night at the WSRE Amos Theatre on the campus of Pensacola Junior College. Both meetings are open to the public.
The Northwest Florida legislative delegation will meet Friday night to discuss the latest draft of the legislation support by All for One. That legislation would create a commission to draft a consolidated government plan to be presented to the county’s voters in 2010.
The group has made a list of supporters available. Click here to download the All for One supporter list (pdf).
Escambia County, the City of Pensacola and the Town of Century all passed resolutions in favor of the consolidation. But the Town of Century later backed out and rescinded their support, with town officials saying that they were misled by All for One.
“We think consolidated government would bring a number of benefits to the community, including a reduction in duplication of services, lower taxes and job creation,” said Jason Crawford, co-chairman of All for One. “The purpose of these meetings is to talk about the benefits of consolidation and to hear from the public.”
Mom, Infant Son Injuried In Highway 29 Crash
January 21, 2009
A Cantonment mom and her infant son were injured in a single vehicle rollover accident on Highway 29 near Quintette Road late Tuesday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Stephanie Ardeneaux, 20, and her infant son Ryan Ardeneaux, 1, were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital after the crash. Stephanie Ardeneaux suffered critical injuries while Ryan was received just minor injuries. He was treated and released.
Troopers say Ardeneaux was southbound on Highway 29 when she drifted into the median and overcorrected. Her 2002 Toyota truck overturned several times across the northbound lanes of Highway 29.
The FHP report says that both mom and son were properly restrained in the vehicle, and alcohol was not a factor in the accident. The report says that charges are pending against Ardeneaux.
Big Kickoff For Relay For Life
January 21, 2009
Century’s Relay for Life officially got underway Tuesday night with a kickoff meeting for team captains.
“Welcome to the beginning of the official start of the relay season”, Paula Jernigan told the team captains.
Team captains and members from Byrneville Elementary School, Century Library, Century Correctional Institute, Carver/Century K-8, Critter Caregivers, Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church and NorthEscambia.com turned out for Tuesday night’s meeting, which included sandwiches provided by Subway of Flomaton, door prizes and team awards.
Century Correctional Institute was awarded Most Faithful Team and received 10,000 spirit points. They also received the Purple Pig for turning in the most money at Tuesday night’s meeting. The Purple Pig, which is a purple piggy bank, must now be filled with money raised for Relay for Life and turned in at the next meeting. Century Library was awarded Most Members in Attendance, with a total of nine team members present.
Paula Jernigan said she would love to see Century reach their goal of twenty Relay teams. “Churches, business, families…anyone can be a team.”
Century Relay for Life will be held Saturday, April 25th from noon until sunrise on Sunday April 26th.
For more information, contact Paula Jernigan, Event Chair, at 256-3842 or B.J. Davis, ACS Community Partner, at 475-0850.
For additional information, visit www.CenturyRelay.com
the road to the crown Part Two
January 21, 2009
Today is the second part of our series “the road to the crown”, brought to you by Tammie’s Cuttin’ Loose and Kay Brown Photography.
We are following 32 young ladies at Northview High School in their quest for the crown and the title of “Miss Northview High School” for 2009. We’ll introduce you to each girl and go behind the scenes for a look at a Northview High School pageant like you have never seen before.
Today, we bring a behind the scenes photo gallery from a recent practice. Click here to see the gallery.
A new installment of “the road to the crown” will be posted each morning and continuing until Saturday. Then, on Sunday morning, we’ll introduce you to the new Miss Northview High School.
The annual Miss Northview High School Pageant will be held on Saturday, January 24 at 7:00 in the school auditorium.
The pageant is sponsored by the Northview High Varsity Cheerleaders. Tickets for the pageant are sold out.
“the road to the crown” is brought to you by Kay Brown Photography and Senior Portraits and Tammie’s Cuttin’ Loose Salon in Atmore.
Click here to read part one of “the road to the crown”.
Escambia School Board Moves Forward On Closing Carver/Century K-8 School
January 21, 2009
The Escambia County School Board voted to move forward with a plan that will close Carver/Century K-8 School at the end of this school year at a Tuesday night meeting where a small number of Century residents quietly protested and spoke out of favor of the school.
“Have you done everything that you could have done to keep the school open?” Century Council member Henry Hawkins asked the board. “The answer is no, you have not…If you close the school, you kill a community.”
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas called for the closure due to declining enrollment and to save funds; the district has been loosing up to $1 million a year to keep the school open, Thomas said.
The board’s actual vote was to redistrict the students from Carver/Century to attend Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School. That redistricting must be advertised for 28 days; the board will have their final vote on the new districts on March 17.
The vote was 3-2 to move forward with advertising the redistricting plan. Board members Bill Slayton, who represents District 5 where Carver/Century is located, and Linda Moultrie voted against the proposal. Jeff Bergosh, Gerald Boone and Patty Hightower voted for the superintendent’s plan.
Century Mayor Freddie McCall pleaded with the district to keep the school open for at least three more years so that community leaders could work to improve the school without the “cloud of closure hanging over our heads”.
“I just want to plead with you to look at our situation,” McCall told the board. “We are unique.” The mayor said his town’s geographic distance from Bratt and Ernest Ward, coupled with the lack of adequate transportation of many Century residents, will present a problem for the district.
“Most of our parents don’t have a car at home,” McCall said. “If their child is sick, how are they going to come to school to get them?”
Century resident Annie Savage (pictured left) told the board that she was upset when she read on NorthEscambia.com that without the benefit of state averaging rule for small schools, Carver/Century’s school grade would have been a “D”, not a “B”.
“What side of your mouth are you going to talk out of?” Savage asked Thomas. “It is discrimination. They are taking from our community and giving to the other community. It is time for us to take action.”
The school board discussed the proposed redistricting for about 20 minutes Tuesday night, with each board member and the superintendent explaining their viewpoint.
“I am not going to speak about the impact on Century,” Slayton said, “I am very concerned about the students and what this will do to them educationally.”
Slayton said that the school’s letter grade was not important to him, rather he was impressed by the school showing great gains.
As for the students attending Bratt Elementary, Slayton said they would be “lost in the shuffle” when moved to a larger school. He said that while Ernest Ward Middle would offer a long list of electives and activities for the incoming Carver/Century students. “But will they have the transportation to be part of these vast opportunities?” he asked, echoing McCall’s comments about many Century parents who not have adequate transportation to get to Bratt or Walnut Hill.
“There are a lot of questions we have not been able to answer,” Slayton said. “I put the students first.”
“I have to know that we have given it our all and all,” said Moultrie. She said if Carver/Century closes “the community loses its life”.
“Nobody gets pleasure out of closing a school,” Thomas told his board. “We are all going to have to make some hard choices, not just in Century.” The district is facing mounting budget cuts, with the state legislature having just cut another $5.4 million in funding.
“The money that we are going to spend to keep it open will choke us on other facilities,” he said. “I am not going to be excited when we have to lay employees off. Unless a miracle occurs, this district is going to get a good dose of financial reality.”
Bergosh, the first board member to call for the closure of Carver/Century early last year, said that the board should be able to close the school easily based upon the excellent data provided by Thomas.
“This school is the most inefficient school in the district,” he said. “This is one we can’t afford not to do.”
Board member Hightower said that reaching the decision to support the closure had not been an easy one for her, but ultimately the closing would best serve the district.
“It is about what we can do for all the students of Escambia County,” Hightower said. “In order to keep our people employed, we are all going to have to make some tough decisions.”
Boone agreed that the closure was a tough decision, but one that would ultimately benefit the entire district.
Pictured above: Century Councilman Henry Hawkins addresses the Escambia County School Board Tuesday night in support of keeping Carver/Century K-8 open. Pictured bottom: Century resident Leola Robinson speaks in support of keeping Carver/Century open while Gerald Boone (left) and Malcolm Thomas (right) look on. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Mayor: ‘Nail In Our Coffin’ As School Board Moves To Close School
January 21, 2009
“They put the nail in our coffin tonight.”
That’s how Century Mayor Freddie McCall reacted to the Escambia County School Board voting Tuesday night to redistrict, and effectively close, Carver/Century K-8 School.
“We all knew it was going to happen,” Brenda Spencer, a member of the town’s Blue Ribbon Committee to save the school, said. “At least Bill Slayton did what he said he was going to do.” District 5 board member Bill Slayton was one of the two votes against Superintendent Malcolm Thomas’ proposal.
Redrawing Carver/Century’s attendance zone to send the students to Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School must, according to law, be advertised 28 days in advance. The school board extended that time to their March 17 meeting.
“I remain open to possibilities between now and then,” Thomas said. He has previously said that he would accept a guaranteed $400,000 a year funding source to keep the school open.
While not required, Thomas said the board would consider holding a public hearing in Century to allow area citizens the chance to offer their input on the attendance zones.
“We would explain the data and what it says, and I’m sure we would listen to the emotional arguments,” he said. “But make no mistake, voting for this idea is putting students first. It’s not about a brick and mortar building; it is about the students.”
“I hope their next step will be to come to Century and all sit down in a city meeting,” McCall said.
“I hope we can convince them to rezone more students to go to Carver/Century,” the mayor said. He hopes that the district will consider redrawing district lines to send some number of current Bratt and Ernest Ward students to Century.
“They are not wanting to do that,” McCall said of the school board. “They are wanting to shut us down.”
Pictured top: Century Mayor Freddie McCall addresses the Escambia County School Board Tuesday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Reading First Program, Two North Escambia Schools Honored
January 21, 2009
The Reading First program in Escambia County has been recognized as being in the top 25% in the state of Florida. The Reading First program in North Escambia includes students at Bratt Elementary and Carver/Century K-8 School.
The schools and the 14 Reading First coaches in the district were honored Tuesday night by the Escambia County School Board.
Reading First grants assist schools to implement proven methods of reading instruction in kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms.
The reading coach at Carver/Century K-8 is Lee Cassady, and the reading coach at Bratt Elementary is Tammy Calloway. Molino Park and Byrneville elementary schools are not part of the Reading First program.
Pictured top: Lee Cassady (left), Reading First coach at Carver/Century K-8 and Tammy Calloway (right), Reading First Coach at Bratt Elementary, hard at work in their offices. Pictured above left: Bratt Principal Sheryl Pomeroy accepts the Reading First award on behalf of Bratt. Pictured below: Lee Cassady (white sweater) is congratulated by District 5 School Board member Bill Slayton Tuesday night. Submitted and NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
George Stone Outreach Bus: Learn About Career Choices
January 21, 2009
George Stone Technical Center and the Judy Andrews Center will host a Community Outreach Event in Cantonment today.
The outreach will inform the public of the different educational opportunities available for people to begin a new and rewarding career. Participants will be able to take a Career Scope program that tests their interests and aptitudes. The Career Bus will be parked outside the Winn Dixie in Cantonment, 1550 Highway 29 South from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. today.
Representatives from George Stone will be on hand to discuss the numerous programs that are available. Individuals interested in increasing job skills, starting new careers, obtaining a GED, or completing high school are encouraged to attend.
Financial aid is available for those who qualify. For more information, visit www.GeorgeStoneCenter.com or contact Joe Snyder at 941-6200, ext. 2156.
George Stone Technical Center programs include:
- Accounting Operations
- Administrative Assistant
- Automotive Collision
- Automotive Service
- Building Construction
- Carpentry & Cabinetmaking
- Correctional Officer
- CosmetologyCulinary Operations
- Digital DesignElectricity
- Gasoline Engine Service
- Law Enforcement
- Marine Service Technology
- Medical Administrative Assistant
- Network Support (CISCO)
- Patient Care Technician
- PC Support
- Web Design
- Welding Technology