INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Opponents of the school superintendent’s decision not to let students see President Barack Obama’s nationally televised back-to-school speech live, lashed out at him Tuesday night.

“You have chosen to put politics in front of good citizenship and good patriotism,” Vero Beach resident Peter Hyatt said during a public comment period at the beginning of a school board meeting.

Hyatt called for Schools Superintendent Harry La Cava’s resignation.

Board members took no action following speeches by about 10 people.
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Though the summer brought tough budget cuts to Treasure Coast schools, a push into the digital age and environmental consciousness will be top priorities for the school year that begins today as thousands of students head back to classrooms.

St. Lucie County school officials closed Port St. Lucie Elementary and Southbend K-8 School, both in Port St. Lucie, at the end of the last school year and eliminated middle school and junior varsity sports districtwide.

Martin County also made cuts in sports and tightened individual school budgets for expenses like field trips and school supplies, but the fact that two schools this year became Title I schools also brought extra federal money to the district.

Martin Schools Superintendent Nancy Kline on Friday said this year will be the first for the Martin Virtual School, which will provide online instruction to students at all grade levels.

“It’s particularly helpful for students who will have to take extended absences from school, though virtual schools in general are becoming more and more popular,” Kline said.

Some students in St. Lucie County will get a taste of the high-tech at two new charter schools — The Nau Charter School and Renaissance Charter School, both in Port St. Lucie.
Renaissance Principal Eric Lewis said teachers at the new school spent the last few weeks reviewing curriculum and learning how to navigate around high-tech classrooms inside the $10 million building, which will include five laptop computers in each classroom.

“We used to think of the average classroom supplies in terms of papers and pencils, or glue and glitter, but now there are so many other tools at our disposal,” Lewis said.

And though the St. Lucie County school officials made significant cuts to the district’s after-school programs, some administrators still found ways for expansion.

Leaders at Village Green Elementary, for example, responded to news that their after-school environmental program would be cut with plans to integrate the program into their day-to-day curriculum. They unveiled plans for the school’s Global Environmental Studies Center magnet in June, a plan St. Lucie Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon said will actually save the district money.

“What they’ve been able to do is remarkable,” Lannon said.

DETAILS BY COUNTY
St. Lucie
Charters: Two new charter schools, The Nau Charter and Renaissance Charter, open today.
Sports: Budget cuts mean no junior varsity or middle school athletics unless the schools are able to pay for them.
Transportation: Transportation hotline is 772-340-4849. The phones will be manned from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, with bilingual staff available. Transportation to magnet schools will be more limited this year, with fewer stops.
Supplies: Supply lists for individual schools, open house schedules and sports release forms are available online.
For more information, visit www.stlucie.k12.fl.us

Martin
Funding: Though school officials had to make cuts, the naming of two schools as Title I schools brought extra funding to the district.
Virtual School: Students for the first time will be able to receive instruction online through the Martin Virtual School. Eligible students had until August 12 to enroll.
Academics: Academically advanced middle school students in Martin this year will have more opportunities to take high school courses like Geometry, Integrated Science and Algebra. The 8th grade academic intervention program, which last school year helped 148 students in danger of failing pass through to the 9th grade, will be expanded to also target 6th and 7th graders.
Transportation: For transportation questions, call: 772-219-1287
For more information, visit www.sbmc.org.

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — In one vote Tuesday night, the St. Lucie County School Board approved new job descriptions, service contracts and the demolition of Port St. Lucie Elementary’s main building.

No one spoke about the demolition, which was on the board’s consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda are considered to be routine. The demolition is not a new concept, as the board planned to demolish the school even before plans to close the school.

Port St. Lucie Elementary is one of two schools closing this year. Students and faculty have been reassigned for the 2009-2010 school year.

By staff report

More Treasure Coast students soon will be able to ditch classes at bricks-and-mortar schools.

Instead, they’ll head to class without leaving the house.

Starting with the new school year in August, all Florida school districts are required to offer virtual schools because of a 2008 law created to give parents more choice over how their children are educated. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Shirley Littlefield’s eyes filled with tears as she picked up her daughter, third-grader Elizabeth, from what was truly her last day of school at Port St. Lucie Elementary.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Littlefield said. “We’re getting split up, and it hurts.”

The 34-year-old building closed its doors to students, teachers and staff on Wednesday as part of a plan to deal with St. Lucie County School District budget constraints.

Closing the school, as well as Southbend K-8 and Anglewood Center, which taught pregnant teens, is expected to save $30 million next year. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — One year ago, a 6-year-old autistic boy was brought to the front of his classroom. He left moments later feeling like an outcast.

For many, he became a symbol of how children with autism are mistreated and misunderstood.

Some experts say the case of Alex Barton, who was voted out of his kindergarten classroom 14-to-2, brought about change and awareness of how autistic children are educated. Others say there still is a long way to go. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Cheers, tears and roses were on display before a standing-room-only crowd in the auditorium of Port St. Lucie Elementary Monday night.

The gathering was to say goodbye to the 34-year-old school that is being closed in June as part of the school district’s plan to save $30 million next year.

“We have always been a family,” said Deb Mock, a reading coach who has taught at the school 31 years. “We’ve been there for each other through all the challenges we’ve had — hurricanes, flooding, the deaths of faculty members. We always strived to do the best for our students,” she added.
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VERO BEACH — Caitlin Henderson’s poodle, French bulldog and border collie were playing in her back yard as usual when she came home from work Wednesday.

But their shelled, spiky-legged, wanna-be-pooch pal Reily was nowhere in sight.

Reily, a 30-pound, foot-and-a-half long rare African tortoise who’s been in the Henderson family for six years, was missing.

And since Reily’s not the most deft-of-foot creature — though not nearly as slow as the stereotype indicates — Henderson, 25, fears someone stole her prized pet.

“Reily steals the dogs’ food and hangs out with them like any other dog would,” Henderson said. “He means a lot to us. He’s one of our dogs, basically.”

Henderson last saw her 15-year-old African spur thigh tortoise during a 2 p.m. lunch break from work at a local animal hospital. When she got back from work at 6 p.m., the tortoise was gone, even though everything else about the yard appeared normal and untouched. (more…)

ANA X. CERON, KATHLEEN CHAPMAN, and MICHAEL LAFORGIA
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers

STUART — As 800 children filed out of Felix A. Williams Elementary School near Stuart on Wednesday, firefighters lined up trucks to protect them from a fast-moving brush fire that burned nearly up to the school’s fence.

The flames got close to the eastern edge of the school, forced the evacuation of 100 homes off Baker Road and dropped sparks over the Windemere subdivision off U.S. 1, fire officials said

Displaced residents watched from a distance, and parents were routed to Martin County High School to pick up children evacuated from their schools

Special video report

But in the end, the fire was nothing more than a close call amid the region’s severe drought. No one was hurt and no structures were lost in the 90-acre blaze, which was fully contained by early evening

Felix A. Williams was not damaged but will remain closed to students and staff today.

The brush fire, which started in the woods behind First Christian Church off Dixie Highway, was first reported at 12:35 p.m. A few minutes later, 15 school buses evacuated staff and students from Felix A. Williams to Martin County High, about 6 miles away.

An experimental image for about 8 p.m. Wednesday showing areas of concern for smoke drift from the Rio Fire near Stuart. US 1 and the Florida Turnpike may see reduced visibility into the night time hours with the Port Saint Lucie area indicated near the smoke plume concentration.

It took about 20 minutes to empty the school, said Martin County sheriff’s Lt. Morgan Sprott, who is in charge of school resource officers and was at the school when the call to evacuate was made.

Sprott said that no students were in danger, but the evacuation caught some parents off guard.

Raymond Hoffman said he was worried when he was stopped on the way to pick up his 9-year-old son, William, from school.

“I was trying every which way to get to the school; there was a cop everywhere,” said Hoffman, who eventually was directed to the high school, where he found his son.

The fire rapidly spread to 90 acres, fueled by wind, low humidity and severe dryness.

“That’s a bad combination for a fire day,” Martin County Fire Rescue Lt. Todd Tucker said as he rode around in an all-terrain vehicle surveying the damage.

On Charlie Greene Drive and Charlie Greene Terrace south of Baker Road, residents had only a few minutes to get out.

Daisy White, 53, said that when sheriff’s deputies knocked on the door, she could see fire in the nearby trees and nothing but smoke in front of her home. She didn’t have time to get her Boxer, Cocoa, or her two puppies, Dakota and Montana, who were loose outside.

She watched the fire from a distance on Baker Road, worried every time she saw the helicopter whirring over her home.

White grew up in the neighborhood in a home her mother built in 1963. She said she moved away but came back to live in a nearby trailer home because the area is so peaceful. The homes are surrounded by woods, she said, and neighbors put in gardens and fruit trees.

“It’s beautiful back there, absolutely beautiful,” she said. “And it’s home.”

At Baseline Avenue and 15th Street, Sandra Jean Brown, 80, sat in her van with her Schnauzer, Willow, watching the smoke creep toward her mobile home. “I’m 80 years old. What, me worry?” Brown said. “If it burns up, I’ll get another one.”

Still, she said, she put a lot of care into her place in the past five years.

“That building there is probably one of the best mobiles in the park,” she said. “Because it’s totally rebuilt.”

She had driven to Home Depot after lunch to see about returning some shutters, and when she returned, deputies wouldn’t let her back into her home.

A few hours later, she sneaked past the deputies to check on the orchids she grows in her backyard.

“I’m just concerned that maybe the wind might pick up,” she said.

Gray smoke billowed over U.S. 1 for most of the afternoon, and flashing signs warned motorists to slow down in the haze. The evacuated area was a ghost town for most of Wednesday afternoon, with empty driveways, abandoned lawn chairs and the smell of charred pine.

David Cook and his wife, Lisa Feick, went back into the smoke to help a neighbor rescue her two dogs and a cat. But they couldn’t find one black-and-white kitten, Feick said.

Despite the dry and windy conditions, firefighters were able to get in front of the blaze and contain it, Tucker said.

A Florida Division of Forestry helicopter whirred over the blaze, dropping 88 loads of water from a 320-gallon bucket dipped in nearby ponds. Firefighters said they would continue to douse smoldering spots through the night.

Little rain has fallen this winter, leaving South Florida at high risk for fire. According to the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, which runs from 0 to 800, two-thirds of Martin County is in the 600-700 range, with some areas as high as 727.

Staff writers Sonja Isger, Eliot Kleinberg and Cara Fitzpatrick contributed to this story.

If you have photos of the fire, please share them on PostPix. If you have a video to submit please upload it here.

FORT PIERCE — A plan that includes eliminating 331 jobs and closing three schools to cut $30.6 million from next year’s budget was explained in detail Tuesday evening to elected members of the School Board, who sat silent through the presentation by Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon.

Their lack of comment was deliberate. Chairwoman Judi Miller said after the meeting all five members of the School Board had previously agreed in individual conversations with Lannon not to speak until after a town hall meeting on the proposal, scheduled for 6 p.m. March 31 at Fort Pierce Central High School auditorium.

Lannon spoke for almost one hour on a problem that he laid entirely at the feet of Tallahassee lawmakers who refuse to raise more money in the face of shortfalls created by the economic recession.
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