Dropping of school choice causing problems in Pinellas

Good job Pinellas County, get rid of the best thing you had going.

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Thousands of students started school Wednesday in Pinellas County, but not everyone went to class because some parents are saying the schools are too far away.

Last year when the Pinellas County School District dropped school choice many thought it would help students attend schools closer to their homes, but some parents are saying thing have only gotten worse.

Parent Heather Riggs says she's furious about the school her 9-year-old son, Justin, has been assigned to.

"The day before school they leave a message: 'we apologize there's no classes available for him in any of those schools,'" Riggs said.

Riggs recently moved into a new home in Largo and says she put in a request for her son to attend a school in their neighborhood, but instead the district assigned him to a school 14 miles away in St. Pete Beach.

"Well let's see, I'm a single mother, the gas prices, um I have a vehicle, and I can't afford the gas prices but what if I didn't have a vehicle," Riggs said.

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Riggs isn't the only frustrated parent. Terry Drekler says his son's school is more than 10 miles away from their home.

"Bus transportation isn't going to be ready for 10 days, so I'm going to have to drive him to school back and forth to school for 10 days so I'm not happy about that," Drexler said.

A spokeswoman for the school district says there simply isn't enough room for all the requests. She says this year only students entering kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade are guaranteed close to home schools. And former school choice students have been grandfathered in.

The school district is also dealing with the class size amendment rule, so students are being placed in the closest schools with seats available.

Twelfth grade student Jessica Piatt says this is not in her best interest either. She and dozens of others plan to fight until they get a change.

"I've been going to school with high academics so I can excel, " Piatt said. "So going to a "C" school is not going to help me."

The spokeswoman for the school district says they'll take an enrollment count after 10 school days to see where they stand. Then, if there's room the district can go back at look at requests.

Parents need a choice in where their children are educated not just send them where ever the county tells them. If anything, this is a strong argument for vouchers.