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2006, A Busy Year for Leon County Schools

The report card shows a mixture of both good and bad grades, but it certainly was a busy year.

It was a year of change for Leon County Schools, beginning with the resignation of longtime Superintendent Bill Montford.

"It’s been a wonderful ride, I have been blessed", said Bill Montford, resigns as Superintendent.

A year of transition brings new principals to ten different schools. And, Deerlake Middle School Principal Jackie Pons is elected to succeed Montford as Superintendent.

It didn’t take long for Pons to tackle security issues, after a man tried to kidnap a student from Ruediger Elementary.

That close call prompted the school board to begin placing security cameras in all schools.

"I am feeling encouraged cameras are being placed in the schools, and so quickly", said Cynthia Williams, parent.

The FCAT is always a hot topic, and this year the scores skyrocketed across the Sunshine State.

"Our middle school students made a single year record increase", said Governor Jeb Bush.

Leon County Schools ranked second in the state in math and fifth in reading.

But, some unusually high and nearly perfect SAT scores prompted an investigation at Canopy Oaks Elementary .

"After that we started investigating, started talking to people at the school", said Paul Felsch, Leon County School’s Testing and Assessment.

The investigation revealed that three teachers copied the tests, and handed them out to other teachers.

The teachers received warnings, and students had to re-take the test.

Leon County students joined more than 2,000 other kids from across the Sunshine State taking a shot at breaking the Guinness World Record for "The Most People Reading Aloud Simultaneously in Multiple Locations."

A few other things topped the list of 2006.

A Chiles High teacher resigned after sexual harassment allegations.

The most recent, a fight that started on Lincoln High’s campus ended in gun fire just a few blocks away from school grounds.

Change is the theme for 2007.

The new principals will begin training at their schools, a few pilot programs will be tested involving the FCAT and the new year calls for a few new policies.