Charlotte County Rezoning School District - Illogical & Biased. This is important! The Charlotte County School District is holding an open hearing next Tuesday, 9/23, @ 5:30 P.M. in the Murdock building in Port Charlotte. Two elementary schools operate within Punta Gorda. The school district has targeted the southwest farthest region of the City to bus to the Northeast. The move is illogical, biased and will directly impact the quality of education to the students it serves. They have targeted Burnt Store Meadows and other deed-restricted areas of middle-class, middle-income families to offset East Elementary. They are touting the positive "technologically-enhanced" new school as a good change, but kids are on the bus at 6:50 a.m. now and in the afternoon get off the bus sweating and hot and these are year-round schools. Admittedly, the bus driver agreed that the 88 degree temperature (after an hour of A/C running) was hot and commented "welcome to my world". Proposing the SW students be bussed even further to the Northeast to help them "balance" the school community is, in essence, threatening the children with this exposure and compromising the quality of life they will have to added commute which is unnecessary only to serve the School Districts concern for balance, and, oh yes, some mandatory FL amendment dictating limited classroom size which I have yet to see. I also read County Commission minutes from not too long ago announcing this change (though they continue to insist it is still a proposal at this stage) has been planned for years while they were in the planning and building stages of new East Elementary to accomodate more students since Sallie Jones Elementary (our current school) was over-sized due to the amendment. Sallie Jones was built to accomodate 904 students, but when the amendment/Statute ... was put into place, it immediately put the "new" Sallie Jones oversized.

I recommend someone from Wink News TV attend this very important and anticipated to be heated and emotional open hearing next Tuesday at 5:30 to dig beneath the surface to discover FL schools open enrollment limitations and redistricting according to County needs, not STUDENT needs. City of Punta Gorda Councilmember William Albers was in attendance at a Burnt Store Meadows resident meeting tonight, along with Acting Police Chief Albert Arenal (in attendance only as a BSM resident though) with three Charlotte County School Board members, BSM Property Owners Association Board and approximately 30 residents in heated discussion over this matter. This matter needs attention. Our hope is the open hearing will lead to a postponed vote. Councilmember Albers requested this action in order that City Councilmembers be able to hold a workshop to discuss the matter and lend assistance in the decision-making. Charlotte County School Board Member Lee Swift did not assure us this could happen. It appears as though a decision is made before the open hearing is even held! This is everyone's business because what else can government do without citizen INPUT! If it turns out we don't have a better alternative and a decision is made we do not agree with, at least we were offered the chance to provide feedback. Help! My email is kdabilis@yahoo.com. Evenings I can be reached at 941-621-2891. Please send someone to the Charlotte County School Board open hearing and meeting. Please do not quote unless I am able to edit commentary as I have just submitted this in a rush and haven't had time to do so.