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Tarpon Springs Elementary Returning Home

Mark Schantz/SUNCOAST NEWS

Debbie Willoughby, family and community relations liaison at Tarpon Springs Elementary School, says this mural was saved from the old campus and now adorns the outside of one of the school's new buildings.

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: August 16, 2008

TARPON SPRINGS - It's been a lesson in perseverance paying off for supporters of Tarpon Springs Elementary School.

This week youngsters, educators and staff mark the 96th anniversary of the city's first school with the opening of a newly designed $29 million campus.

For the last 18 months, while the new campus was under construction, youngsters and staff relocated across town. They operated out of portable classrooms on the campus of Tarpon Springs Middle School.

Even before moving across town to the middle school campus on North Florida Avenue, many classes at the elementary school were moved into portable units, according to Deborah Willoughby, the school's family and community relations liaison. Mold in some of the school's classrooms was thought to have been making students ill, she said.

The new school, Willoughby said, is "a dream come true."

Members of the public will have a chance to see the new school for themselves during an open house slated for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16. The school is at 525 N. Disston Ave.

Angela Post, a teacher at the school, said learning in portables was an adventure for the young students. Everyone received an umbrella so they can ferry between portables during storms, she said.

"The new campus is gorgeous," Post said during a visit to the campus last week. She cannot wait to start teaching her preschoolers in a classroom with the latest amenities, Post said.

"I'm speechless," she said.

It is a real testament to the dedication of staff, students and parents that the school earned an A grade from the Florida Department of Education while it was holding classes in portables, Willoughby said.

Tarpon Springs Elementary School is a close-knit, family school that has taught several generations of residents, she said.

The school can now use more volunteers and mentors, she said.

Mayor Beverley Billiris said she is happy to see the new campus opening.

Billiris, who taught in the school before becoming mayor, noted it wasn't easy to persuade Pinellas School District officials to tear down the old mold-ridden school and build the replacement.

She credits former U.S. Rep. Michael Bilirakis, his son and successor in the U.S. House, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, and other officials, with persuading the School District to find funding for the construction of the new Tarpon Springs Elementary School earlier than originally planned.

If the school construction funding request had remained pending until now, when the School District is grappling with a loss of money resulting in changes to state tax laws and the economic slowdown, it probably would be rejected, Billiris said.

The old school had no modern conveniences and window-mounted air conditioners, Willoughby noted. Its replacement has the latest in 21st century amenities, she said.

Each classroom is equipped for digital learning with smart boards, projectors, laptop computers, the latest in surround sound and wireless microphones for teachers.

Each class has a mini computer laboratory with five computers and there is a mobile laptop computer lab for each grade level.

The campus boasts a new state-of-the-art media center, multipurpose room and cafeteria with modern kitchen.

There is a lot of green space on the new campus designed to meet environmental standards, Willoughby said. In addition, there are parking spaces set aside for car-poolers and hybrid vehicles.

In another bow to energy conservation, motion sensors turn classroom and laboratory lights off when the room is empty.

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