Free/reduced lunch rates skyrocket in Pinellas schools

OCTOBER 28, 2009

The percentage of Pinellas students eligible for free or reduced price lunches climbed to 46.1 percent this year, up from 38.6 percent last year and 38.3 percent in 2007, according to Pinellas district data requested by the Gradebook. Maybe that's not a surprise given that the Pinellas unemployment rate has sprinted past 11 percent, but it still highlights the additional challenges that educators face this year.

You can see the 2009 figures here, and the 2008 figures here.

Here are some of the schools where the percentage of students eligible for free/reduced price lunches jumped more than 10 percent:

Belleair Elementary: 75.28 percent to 87.64 percent
Dixie Hollins High: 38.66 percent to 49.18 percent
Dunedin Elementary: 62.19 percent to 76.39 percent
Rawlings Elementary: 56.28 percent to 67.99 percent
Sandy Lane Elementary: 82.62 percent to 93.20 percent
Starkey Elementary: 42.88 percent to 54.31 percent

Posted by Ron Matus at 12:29:52 pm on October 28, 2009 in

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

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