Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 3-13-18

Features
Hillsborough District Against Arming Staff
SALLY HARRIS, Chair
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week during their regular board meeting, members of the Hillsbor- ough County School District discussed a pending bill that would authorize certain per- sons to carry guns on school campuses.
The Board members adamantly opposed arming additional school staff with weapons. Members voted to send a letter to Governor Rick Scott opposing the idea.
TAMARA CINDY STUART SHAMBURGER,
Vice Chair
Ms. Tanya Arja, spokes- person for the Hillsborough County School District said, “The governor talked about safety measures for the schools, called “hardening of schools,” but there are no specific guidelines included to address that issue. We have to wait until the Office of Safe Schools is created and determine what is con- sidered the minimum re- quirements.
“At that point, we will look at all of the schools and de- termine what standards are needed at each school. We
SUSAN VALDES MELISSA SNIVELY APRIL GRIFFIN LYNN GRAY
can then apply for a grant from the $99 million fund set aside to meet those re- quirements.”
The bill calls for sworn police officers. Ms. Arja further said the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office and Tampa Police Depart- ment would need to hire a combined additional 147 po- lice officers and deputies to ensure that each school has a permanent, full time offi- cer on campus.
The cost of the additional law enforcement officers would be about $10 million
per year.
Currently, the bill has set
aside $97.5 million to hire School Resource Officers and Deputies.
Bill Requirements
In addition to the portion of the bill pertaining to staff with weapons on a local level: requires students to list any “referrals to mental health services” at the time of enrollment; establish a “Student Crime Watch Pro- gram,” through which stu- dents can anonymously report suspicious activities to authorities; set up a
“threat assessment team,” that will monitor and work to prevent potentially dan- gerous situations.
The teams will report their findings to the newly created Office of Safe Schools on a regular basis.
In addition, the schools will receive at least $100,000 per year, depend- ing on enrollment in the dis- trict, to pay for enhanced mental health services. Some charter schools are also eligible for the funding.
Governor Scott signed the bill into law last Friday.
UniverSoul Circus 25th Anniversary Tour Heads To Tampa
UniverSoul Circus cele- brates 25 high-flying years as America’s top-ranked venue for music, laughter and unri- valled performance artistry.
UniverSoul Circus sets up its single ring big top in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium, March 28th through April 1st.
Commemorating its 25th anniversary in 2018, Univer- Soul Circus has forever trans- formed the world’s urban entertainment landscape with an unforgettable display of music, laughter and extreme thrills.
For 2018, UniverSoul Circus has produced its best show ever.
“This has been an amazing journey and a fantastic ride,” said Founder and CEO Cedric Walker, speaking of UniverSoul’s 25th Anniver- sary. “Generations have wit- nessed our growth and have evolved with us. We want our fans to know they will always be a part of the UniverSoul Circus family. Consider us a community-minded, family- oriented, spiritually-uplifting entertainment revival for fam- ilies across America.”
Earlier in 2018, in a special outdoor ceremony in Sara- sota, The Circus Ring of Fame Foundation, Inc. selected Uni-
verSoul Walker for induction into the prestigious Circus Ring of Fame in recognition of his “outstanding contribu- tions to circus arts and cul- ture.”
Acts in Tampa include Caribbean Dancers, Contor- tionists, Acrobats, Hire-wire, Teeterboard, Giant Wheel, Russian Bar, Elephants, Mo- torcycles, and a Mixed Animal Act featuring Zebras and
Camels.
UniverSoul Circus features
a multicultural conglomera- tion of performers from virtu- ally every corner of the globe, including the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mex- ico, Guinea, Peru, and China.
Visit www.universoulcir- cus.com for more info, ticket prices, show times, and sched- ules.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018