Teenage Blood Donors On School Board Agenda

How old is old enough to give blood during high school blood drives?

The school board will consider at a workshop Tuesday a proposal from LifeSouth Community Blood Centers to allow high school students as young as 16 to give blood.

Currently, the minimum age for students is 17 in Hernando County.

But schools in the regions of Citrus and Levy counties served by LifeSouth lowered the age to 16 this year and saw an increase in donations of some 40 percent, according to statistics LifeSouth officials will give the school board Tuesday.

Students would still have to sign a consent form.

The board also will consider at the 2 p.m. workshop a proposal by Superintendent Wayne Alexander that would give dropouts a chance to earn their high school diplomas on the Web.

Alexander is promoting an online distance learning program from Penn Foster, an accredited company that specializes in independent home study. The district would pay a flat fee of $1,500 per student for unlimited courses or $585 per course.

The program would allow the flexibility for students now out in the working world and allow the district to meet its obligation to work to bring them back into the fold, Alexander told Hernando Today recently.

Then, during its regular meeting at 7 p.m., the board will consider a proposed contract with the Hernando County Teachers Association that would give teachers a 2.4 percent raise this year, which will cost the district $2.1 million. The district also will cover the 1.5 percent increase in the cost of health insurance.

The board meets at school district headquarters, 919 N. Broad St., Brooksville.