Page 35 - Florida Sentinel 6-14-19

Local
Retired, Longtime HART Driver Dies
City Councilman Urging Public To Attend Workshop On Affordable Housing
A professional driver who drove buses for more than two decades has died. Mr. James Duval Saunders, Jr., was 66 years old.
A native of Southern Pines, North Carolina, Mr. Saunders attended school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after his family relocated.
He graduated from Ger- mantown High School in 1970, and continued his edu- cation at North Carolina Cen- tral University, in Durham, North Carolina. While at- tending college, he became a member of Nu Gamma Alpha Brotherhood.
After earning his B. A. de- gree, Mr. Saunders entered the workforce and became a bus driver in Philadelphia.
He relocated to Tampa, and became an employee of the HART Transit Authority, in 1988. He drove for the or- ganization until he retired in 2014. During his tenure, he served as the President of the Amalgamated Transit Union
JAMES SAUNDERS, JR. 10/14/1952 — 6/2/2019
for several years.
Mr. Saunders was an
avid fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and enjoyed traveling. He was also a member of Speak Life Church.
Mr. Saunders is sur- vived by his wife, five chil- dren, other family members and friends.
Funeral services for Mr. Saunders will be held on Saturday, June 15th. Har- mon’s Funeral Home is in charge of handling arrange- ments.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Along the campaign trail, newly-elected City Council- man Orlando Gudes and several other candidates for City Council positions ad- dressed the lack of “afford- able housing” in Tampa and Hillsborough County. The topic was discussed at most forums prior to the most re- cent election.
While candidates ad- dressed affordable housing, many of those who attended the forums questioned “at- tainable” housing.
Councilman Gudes (District 5) is urging resi- dents to attend a workshop
CITY COUNCILMAN ORLANDO GUDES District 5
on affordable housing on Thursday, June 20, 2019. The Real Estate and Housing Depts. will host the workshop at 10 a. m., on the third floor
of City Hall, 315 E. Kennedy Blvd.
“We will have a multitude of questions for Real Estate and Housing. We want the public to come out and hear how the City is working on af- fordable housing. We’d also welcome their comments and suggestions on this matter,” Councilman Gudes said.
“People in District 5 have been asking for affordable housing for a long time. This is the time we have to show up so the people there will know that we do want to know more about ‘what is af- fordable housing,’ and that we care about what’s happen- ing in our district,” he con- cluded.
School Board Chair Comments
On Retirement Of School
FYI
Stage Play Presented At Chamberlain High
The Double Twisted Life Of Rev. Lee And First Lady Lee, a stage play, will be presented Saturday, June 22, 2019. Doors open 5 p. m., and showtime is 6 p. m. The play will be presented at Chamberlain High School, 9401 North Blvd., Tampa 33612.
Dr. Rose Marie Solomon is the playwright and producer. The production is directed by Lavarious Slaughter. The play features Oliver Samuels.
For tickets or more information, go to thedoublelifetampa.eventbrite.com, or call (321) 238-9845, or (407) 592-0630.
District Supt. Jeff Eakins
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
On Monday, the leader of the country’s eight-largest school district is exercising the option to leave his post when his contract ends next June, Jeff Eakins an- nounced in a letter to board members.
“After 33 years of serving students, parents and fellow educators, I have decided that at the conclusion of the final year of my current con- tract, I will be retiring,” he said. “My final day will be June 30, 2020.”
In a telephone interview Monday, Eakins elabo- rated, saying recent events within his extended family – including parents and sib- lings who live in Ohio – prompted the decision.
Eakins said he’s “loved every minute” of being su- perintendent, but the de- mands of the job required that he not spend as much time with his family as he would like.
School Board Chair, Ta- mara Shamburger says
School Board Chair, Tamara Shamburger and School Supt. Jeff Eakins.
Mr. Eakins’ decision is not surprising.
“Now is the time for him to make a decision,” she said.
Shamburger ap- plauded Eakins’s overall leadership, having guided the district out of a financial black-hole early in his tenure and taking charge to turn around failing schools.
But Shamburger ex- pressed some disappoint- ment in Eakins’s lack of “significant improvement” in closing the achievement gap.
“When we talk about stu-
dent achievement, we know that has been an issue,” she said. “These issues existed before his tenure. But since I’ve been on the board there has not been much change.”
Shamburger said the focus now is on ensuring there is little disruption to the district between the end of Eakins’s term and the start of the new superinten- dent’s.
“It’s really my goal that there will be a smooth tran- sition,” she said. “That that person will be able to take the baton and run the race.”
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