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100 Names Suggested For 2 New Schools

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

dlwhite@tampatrib.com

Published: October 22, 2008

LITHIA - More than 100 names, including Dick Stowers Elementary School and Glenn Barrington Middle School, have been suggested for the two schools under construction on the south side of FishHawk Boulevard in Lithia.

The Hillsborough County School Board asked residents to propose names for the two schools, along with an elementary and a high school under construction in Dover. All four schools are scheduled to open in August 2009.

Dorinda Rountree, executive secretary for Barbara Franques, director of the Hillsborough County School District Area VI office, said her office received more than 1,000 name proposals for the four schools. Also submitted was a petition to name the elementary school in Lithia in honor of lifelong Brandon area resident Dick Stowers.

"I also understand there is a petition drive to name the middle school in honor of Glenn Barrington, but I haven't received that yet," Rountree said. Barrington's name is among 27 proposed for the new middle school in Lithia.

Barrington, 88, retired as assistant principal from Hillsborough High School in 1983 after 32 years as an administrator and football coach. He was elected to the school board in 1988 and was re-elected in 1992, 1996 and 2000. During his tenure on the board, he was known for having zero tolerance for school violence and issued a call for the return of corporal punishment.

Nancy Waters, a teacher at Cimino Elementary School in Valrico, launched the petition drive to have one of the new schools in Lithia named for longtime friend Dick Stowers.

Stowers, 79, graduated from Brandon School, now McLane Middle School, in 1947. In 1960, he purchased the historical 1876 home built by James Brandon on Brandon Boulevard and turned it into Stowers Funeral Home. He played an active role in building Brandon, serving as president of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce and honorary mayor for 1963-64.

Stowers also helped establish Brandon Community Hospital, now Brandon Regional Hospital, and many of the community's nonprofit organizations. His name was among 76 suggested for the new elementary school.

Other recommendations were Bell, Buccaneer, Lake Hutto, Hutto Creek, Albert Einstein, Gentle Woods, Bluegill, Fishboy, Little Fish, Osprey Lake, Rays, Sunshine, Riverview Rocket, Buffalo, Tyson and Zach.

Residents also suggested Lake Boyette, Lithia Creek, Jimmy Carter and Hutto as suitable names for the new middle school.

Under school board policy, schools are named for geographic locations or people who have performed outstanding public service, such as U.S. presidents, school board members, educators or civic leaders.

The school board is tentatively scheduled to vote on the names at its Nov. 6 meeting at the Raymond O. Shelton School Administrative Center, 901 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524.

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