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Hooper: Legislators should explain public school funding — to the kids

 
Published March 11, 2018

Students at the Alliance for Public Schools' GradNation summit in St. Petersburg last week set their sights on a number of critical issues, not the least being a sense that adults need to do more to invest in their schools and provide greater safety.

But we need to get some legislators and state leaders to hear their voices. The current legislative budget out of Tallahassee calls for a per pupil increase well below what districts really need, particularly large districts like Hillsborough and Pinellas. Our lawmakers are supposed to be part of any alliance supporting public schools, but their actions often suggest a different agenda. .?.?.

While many will trek to Washington, D.C., for the March for Our Lives rally on March 24, other area students spurred by the Parkland Stoneman Douglas shooting will gather at Kiley Garden next to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park on the same day for a March for Our Lives Tampa Bay rally to end gun violence. It will kick off at 10 a.m.

Keep fighting kids, for all of us. .?.?.

Seen on a bumper sticker: Pay The Police Like Your Life Depends On It. .?.?.

Sheila Johnson said Tiger Woods answered a prayer when he chose to play the Valspar Championship. But Johnson deserves tons of credit for bringing the resort out of bankruptcy and shaping up the course so it could attract some of the tour's top professionals. She's a smart and personable businesswoman who deserves to be celebrated by Tampa Bay. .?.?.

C'mon, Arby's. You're selling a "Miami Cuban?" In Tampa Bay? Please. Have Arby's CEO Paul Brown show up at the Cuban Sandwich Festival on March 31 and April 1 in Ybor City and get a history lesson.

That's all I'm saying.