Tampabay.com
JANUARY 07, 2009

The "most hated man in Florida"?

We've reported a couple of times now about Joel Chandler's efforts to hold Florida school districts accountable to the Sunshine Law. The Polk father started off trying to teach his kids a civics lesson, and has become a crusader after the Polk school district rejected his request.

What he wanted -- personal information of employees' dependents who get health insurance -- outraged many school workers.

Sometimes, Chandler writes in his blog, the reaction makes him feel "like I'm the most hated man in Florida and it's all because I asked some inconvenient questions."

Not like that's stopping him. Chandler now has posted a "report card" grading all districts' responses to his request. Locally, he gave Hernando a B+, Hillsborough a D, Pinellas a B and Pasco an F. (Don't feel bad, Pasco. The majority failed his system.)

Next up for Chandler? More public record requests of school districts, of course. Apparently, being hated is no deterrent.

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About the blog

Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going in on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.

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THE TEAM

Rebecca Catalanello covers Pinellas County schools. E-mail her: rcatalanello@tampabay.com.

Tony Marrero covers Hernando County schools. E-mail him: tmarrero@tampabay.com.

Marlene Sokol covers Hillsborough County schools. E-mail her: sokol@tampabay.com.

Ron Matus covers Pinellas County schools. E-mail him: matus@tampabay.com.

Jeffrey S. Solochek covers Pasco County schools. E-mail him: solochek@tampabay.com.

Kim Wilmath covers the University of South Florida. E-mail her: kwilmath@tampabay.com.

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