TAVARES The Lake County School District needs to reduce its dropout rates, get rid of portable classrooms, expand student access to technology - and make a few other adjustments to make its schools effective, according to a new report.
SchoolMatch, a private company based in Westerville, Ohio, also told the Lake district to smooth over its relationship with the School Board, adopt board and administrative policies, and communicate better with staff members.

School Board members will discuss the SchoolMatch Report at a workshop at 9 a.m. today.

The 106-page report, released last week in its final version, listed 12 areas of the Lake County School District that need attention. The report also made recommendations that would make Lake schools more effective.

"It provides us with a road map of where we need to be going," Superintendent Jerry Smith said. "It gives us a snapshot of the good things going on in our schools."

The first hot spot listed in the report has already corrected itself, School Board members say.

SchoolMatch recommended hiring an outside facilitator to smooth the relationship between the board and administration. But last year's elections changed the makeup of the board, and members say its chemistry has improved.

The report also recommends the School Board and the district consider adopting policies in school accountability, expectations of staff and students, school climate, data-based decision-making and access of students and staff to technology.

In that respect, the report says the district should provide technology equity for all students, with priority toward the learning needs of the lowest achieving students. District guidelines should reduce the disparity between low and high-income student access to computers and all new technology, the report says.

SchoolMatch also addresses two long-standing challenges in the Lake system: overcrowding and the dropout rate.

With 334 portable classrooms, SchoolMatch urges the district to reduce the portables, with an overall goal of eliminating all of them.

Consideration should also be given to the size of schools, with 400-500 students in elementaries, 600-800 in middles, and 1,200-1,500 in high schools, the report said.

But not all the recommendations are realistic, officials say. Jerry Cox, assistant superintendent for business and support services, said building smaller schools would add a higher administrative cost. For every school, there has to be a principal and assistants, a bookkeeper and other administrators, he said.

"From an economic point of view, how much can we afford?" Cox said. "The only thing that will drive people to do something different is economy."

While Lake's student population soars, SchoolMatch noted the district's dropout rate was high. The dropout rate for grades 9-12 is 25.97 percent, far above the 10.4 percent level considered to be effective.

Here are the schools' student attendance
percentages, ranked from the most-attended
to the least. The district average says
92.57 percent of students are in school on a
given day.

1. Clermont....95.1
2. Eustis....94.6
3. Dabney....94.5
4. Tavares....94.5
5. Cypress Ridge....94.4
6. Minneola....94.3
7. Umatilla....94.2
8. Triangle....94.1
9. Beverly Shores....94.1
10. Roseborough....94.0
11. Skeen....94.0
12. Seminole....93.8
13. Eustis Heights....93.7
14. Fruitland Park....93.5
15. Treadway....93.5
16. Groveland....93.4
17. Mascotte....93.2
18. Rimes....92.2

1. Clermont....94.1
2. Mount Dora....93.0
3. Tavares....92.9
4. Eustis....92.4
5. Groveland....92.3
6. Oak Park....92.0
7. Umatilla....91.6
8. Carver....90.1

1. Mount Dora....92.3
2. South Lake....91.4
3. Eustis....91.2
4. Umatilla....90.7
5. Tavares....90.1
6. Leesburg....88.0

Victoria Thornton, left, and Brandi McManus listen to instructions during keyboard practice at Music Class at Tavares Elementary School

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