Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 9-25-18

Features
Superintendent Adds Dates To Town Hall Meetings
JEFF EAKINS Hillsborough County School Superintendent
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, Hillsborough County Public School Superintendent Jeff Eakins added additional dates to a series of Town Hall Meet- ings he will host. The purpose of the meetings is to provide information on the Education Referendum.
The referendum will appear on the ballot in the General Election on November 6th. Vot- ers will decide whether or not a half cent tax that will benefit the school district will pass.
During the meetings, Superintendent Eakins will inform residents about the needs of the schools and positive impact a half- penny sales tax referendum would have on students, schools and community.
lic. The meetings are open to the general pub-
Superintendent Eakins will lead the
meetings on the following dates and lo- cations:
September 26, 7 p.m. at Grady Elemen- tary School, 3910 W. Morrison Ave., Tampa;
October 1, 7 p.m. at Wharton High School, 20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa; October 3, 7 p.m. at Westchase Recre-
ation Center, 9791 Westchase Dr., Tampa; October 4, 7 p.m. at Pizzo K-6 School,
11701 USF Bull Run Dr., Tampa;
October 9, 7 p.m. at Jackson Springs
Recreation Center, 8620 Jackson Springs Road, Tampa;
October 11, 7 p.m. at Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church, 2902 W. Fletcher Avenue, Tampa;
October 15, 7 p.m. at Middleton High School, 4801 N. 22nd St., Tampa; and
October 23, 7 p.m. at The Chapel at Fish- Hawk, 6026 Churchside Dr., Lithia.
During the town hall meetings, Superin- tendent Eakins will also share information about the state of the school district, opportu- nities made available for students and the $2 billion challenge the community is facing be- cause of inadequate state funding.
Each meeting will provide families, district employees and community members the op- portunity to get their questions about the ref- erendum answered by Superintendent
Eakins. List Detailing Projects
The school by school list outlining the spe- cific school improvement projects that a half- penny sales tax would fund if approved by voters has been created. There will be a refer- endum on the November 6th General Election ballot that will allow voters to vote for or
against the sales tax.
The complete list of 1,785 specific projects
over the next 10 years is available for parents, students, school staff and members of the community to view. The list includes 203 school air conditioning re- placements and overhauls; 63 aging roof replacements; and $23 million in safety and secu-
rity improvements.
Superintendent Eakins
said at least $500,000 will be invested at every school in buildings owned by the school district.
A Citizen Oversight Com- mittee will review the spend- ing, progress and completion of all projects. Longtime edu- cator Betty Castor will serve as chairperson of the commit- tee and will lead the selection of the other five members of the committee.
The average age of schools in Hillsborough County is 50 years old. The district has more than 230 schools. Florida ranks 44th in the na- tion in education funding for K-12 schools.
Hit And Run Driver Strikes Building, Causes $800,000 Fire
Building caught fire after it was struck by a hit and run driver. (Photo courtesy of Tampa Fire Department).
An unidentified driver is blamed with hitting a build- ing early Saturday and fleeing the scene. The building burst into flames as a result of the accident.
According to the Tampa Fire Department, the fire was reported at the Havoline Ex- press Lube, 503 E. Sligh Av- enue early Saturday morning.
Dispatchers received sev- eral 9-1-1 calls at 2:40 a.m., with callers saying that the metal structure was on fire with heavy smoke and flames coming from inside the build- ing.
When firemen arrived at the scene, they began attack- ing the flames. However, they were unable to make entry into the building. Firefighters fought defensively until they were able to get the fire under control at 4 a.m.
A search of the
building confirmed that there were no occupants inside. An investigator from the Fire Marshal's Office ar- rived on scene to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
According to the investi- gator's report, the fire was caused when a vehicle traveling at an un- known rate of speed crashed into the structure and ignit- ing the combustible and flam- mable fluids inside which caused the fire.
The investigators were unable to determine the make or model of the vehicle or the driver.
The damage to the build- ing was estimated at $800,000.
Anyone with information about the fire, the vehicle, or the driver is asked to contact the Tampa Fire Marshal’s Of- fice at (813) 274-7000.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2018