There were some tears and a lot of excitement as nearly 120,000 Polk County Public Schools students returned to classes Monday morning.
At Oscar J. Pope Elementary School, which went from a C to an A grade this year, Principal Jennifer Wiedenman greeted students as they got off buses and out of cars. District Senior Director of the Office of Acceleration Ann Everett helped to put colored tags on students’ backpacks so they’d know which bus to take in the afternoon.
Summer vacation is over: Jacob and Annie Lewis waited by the office door with their three children: a third grader, a first grader and a kindergartener.
The third grader said he was excited to return to school and see all of his friends. He said he spent the summer reading books, his favorites being “Dog Man” and “Minecraft: The Island.”
Teachers wanted: District officials said they have about 330 teacher vacancies out of a 7,000-person instructional staff — 40 fewer than this time last year.
“We expect to be closer to 200 vacancies once school gets going, which is pretty normal for us,” said district spokesman Kyle Kennedy.
Bus drivers wanted: There were also about 25 school bus driver openings, but — as of last week — they had multiple people going through training to fill those positions.
There were 155 bus routes listed as 20-30 minutes late Monday morning on the district’s website, which is typical for the chaos of a first day of school when drivers are still learning their routes and students.
Slideshow: First day at Oscar J. Pope Elementary
Students received a colored tag to help them get on the right school bus in the afternoon on the first day of classes at Oscar J. Pope Elementary School on Aug, 12, 2024. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
School buses are now equipped with cameras to photograph cars passing buses letting off children. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
School buses are now equipped with cameras to photograph cars passing buses letting off children. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
Jacob and Annie Lewis waited in line with their three children to enter Oscar J. Pope Elementary School’s office on the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
Students wait in line to enter Oscar J. Pope Elementary School’s cafeteria on the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
A student gets off the bus for the first day of school at Oscar J. Pope Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
A woman takes a boy to the office on the first day of school at Oscar J. Pope Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
A family comforts their crying child on Aug. 12 2024, the first day of classes, at Oscar J. Pope Elementary School. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow 
A student is comforted by a family member on the first day of school at Oscar J. Pope Elementary School on Aug. 12, 2024. | Kimberly C. Moore, LkldNow
Bus cameras: Buses pulling into Oscar J. Pope, along with all other PCPS buses, were decked out with new cameras to capture the license plates of drivers who pass stopped buses that have their swing arms fully extended.
From Aug. 12 through Sept. 24, drivers will receive written warnings. After that, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office will issue $225 citations to the registered owners of those vehicles.
Air-conditioning issues: Some teachers were complaining last week that classroom thermostats had been installed that can only be controlled by the district office and are set at 72 degrees, which they say isn’t low enough when 25-30 kids are in a classroom.
“We have absolutely no control over any of it anymore,” said Natalie Cole, who teaches at Winter Haven High School. “I’m going to tell you that the air does not adjust. It might say 72 but it doesn’t get to 72 … I’m very concerned about this. It’s unhealthy to have this air conditioning set to that. ”
A Lake Gibson High School teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said her room temperature is set at 72 degrees, but it rarely gets that low. “I have big sweaty boys that come in after PE and my room has been up to 88°,” she said.
Kennedy said there are several reasons the thermostats cannot be set below 72 degrees.
“We do this to avoid condensation building up and creating mold,” Kennedy said. “Also, this prevents excessive wear on HVAC equipment. If someone has a documented medical issue that requires a lower temperature, we can accommodate that.”
Teachers union response: Polk Education Association teachers’ union President Stephanie Yocum said they have directed members to put in a work order if their ACs aren’t working or not working efficiently enough to cool their rooms to 72 degrees. She added that if the work order isn’t addressed, then members should send the work orders to the PEA so the union can track the issue.
“The people at the district office making the decision to set the AC at a minimum of 72 degrees haven’t been in a classroom with 20+ bodies in a long time or even never,” Yocum said. “We charge district staff and school board members to teach alongside our teachers for just one day, so they can experience the hot, untenable environment they’re forcing onto their staff and our students. Classrooms are as different as our student’s needs. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for student learning, and it doesn’t work for our learning environments.”
Stay calm and slow down: Lakeland Police Department officials are urging commuters and parents to be cautious. There has already been an incident near the McKeel Academy South campus involving angry parents waiting in the car pick-up line. The McKeel Academy Schools began classes last week. One parent cut off another parent.
“The second driver engaged in a verbal argument … as they argued, Driver One could see that Driver Two had a firearm, but Driver Two did not threaten Driver One with it,” said LPD spokesperson Stephanie Kerr. “There were no criminal charges.”
Kerr said LPD officers will be out in force this week to ensure that school zone speed limits of 15 miles per hour are obeyed.
“We are really pushing school zone and pedestrian safety,” she said.
Message from the sheriff: Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd sent a text message to residents Monday afternoon, urging drivers to leave a little earlier, drive a lot slower and watch out for children.
“Please, please be safe,” Judd said. “Let’s make it a great school year!”
latest news
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
