School starts in less than a month, and now is the time to begin preparations for the return to the classroom.
The School District of Palm Beach County has created a Back-to-School web site with everything families need to get ready to return to district schools. Located at www.palmbeachschools.org/backtoschool, the site is a one-stop-shop with information on finding your school and registering, health requirements and immunizations, applying for free and reduced-priced meals, this year’s student and family handbook, an introduction to the new regional superintendents, school times, calendars and back-to-school news.
“Whether you’re a parent ready to get the kids back to school or a student not wanting the summer to end, the countdown clock is posted for everyone to view,” Chief Communications and Strategic Engagement Officer Amity Chandler said. “As for our schools, we can’t wait to welcome our students.”
The Education Network, the district’s TV station, has posted videos to the site that address frequently asked questions about the start of school, as well as safety tips for drivers and students.
School supply lists are available on each school’s web page, which is searchable from the Back-to-School page. Bus routes will be posted on Aug. 10.
The page will be updated daily as more information becomes available. For more info., follow the School District of Palm Beach County at www.facebook.com/pbcsd and Twitter @PBCSD. Back-to-School photos and comments posted by parents and students using #BTS2016 and #PBCSReady will also appear on the page.
It’s Back to School, but the PBC School Board deems it is more important to spend $40 million of your tax money on modernizing North Transportation Compound ($12,500,000), South Transportation Compound ($12,500,00) and Western Central Transportation Compound ($15,000,000). Thank your District School Board member for that advocacy. She is all about the buses and bus drivers than the schools in the Western Communities.
In addition, it is more important to build a NEW high school on Lyons/Lake Worth Road than to modernize/rebuild 2 of the only oldest remaining high schools in PBC-Wellington Community High and Santaluces High.
And of course, it is more important to build a New elementary school in Westlake-you know the newest 5 person incorporated city and also a New elementary in the Palm Beach Gardens area. (Amazing that the Gardens always gets what it wants, compared to Wellington which gives an extra quarter of million dollars to their schools). All this while there are 2 schools in Wellington that are in poor condition-New Horizons El-which nobody advocates for and Wellington Landings Middle which does have a few people raising concerns.
The western communities need a School Board member who will advocate to modernize the Oldest High Schools in the County instead of worrying about building new Bus facilities and only advocating for some of her district’s needs. Students before Buses!
School boundaries will inevitably change. There are 300 apartments going up behind Lowe’s. There are more homes going to be built on Lake Worth Rd-just West of the Turnpike. There are the massive developments peppered all through the far reaches of the Western Communities. Schools, currently under capacity, will begin to reach capacity, as there are more and more families with children moving to Wellington.
Patchwork on Wellington Schools will not work. Advocating for programming instead of a new school plant is Not more important.
Wellington prides itself on its schools, but is very weak when it comes to advocating for modernization and the imperative repairs to our schools. How many of the appointed “Education Committee” knew about the “Poor” conditions of 2 of its schools and the “Fair” condition of Wellington High?
The “Education” Committee needs to get educated, stop giggling at meetings and ferociously advocate for a new high school and immediate repairs to our “poor’ condition schools. It’s just too easy for the Committee to divvy out the $250,000 of our taxes to schools so they can ‘feel good’; while being completely out of tune with the condition and needs of Wellington Schools. The Committee is a farce.