Today's story on the increase in students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch at Pasco County schools compares this month's statistics to those of September 2008.

The change has been even more recent, though.

As recently as January, many of the Pasco schools had yet to see the spikes they have experienced now.

Sand Pine Elementary, for instance, still had just 15 percent of its students getting the federal assistance. This month, it's up to 24 percent. Hudson High, at 46.5 percent in September 2008, had risen to 51.7 percent by January but still hadn't reached its current 59.8 percent.

The trends are the same at most of the schools. So don't let the stock market fool you. The schools are still feeling the punch of the economy.