School Board Names New Principal at Newsome, Presents Perfect Attendance Awards to High School Seniors

The Hillsborough County School Board voted unanimously to transfer King High School Principal Carla Bruning to Newsome High School to fill the shoes of retiring Newsome Principal Rebecca Fitzgerald.

The vote came today during the board’s regular meeting.

School board members Jack Lamb and April Griffin said they voted in favor of the transfer reluctantly.

“We are going to be very sorry to lose you at King,” Lamb told Bruning.

“You’re going to be missed by the entire Temple Terrace community,” added Griffin. “Newsome is very lucky to get you.

A product of the Hillsborough County School System, Bruning received her master’s degree from the University of South Florida.

She began her education career in 1985, teaching the sciences at Gaither and Bloomingdale high schools before being hired by the late Ronald Frost in 1995 to serve as assistant principal in student affairs at Durant High School.

She remained in that position until 2001 when she was appointed to King High School as assistant principal for curriculum.

She served as King's assistant principal for curriculum under Principal Richard Bartels (now retired) and Dr. David Steele (current chief information and technology officer).

In 2004, Bruning was appointed principal of C. Leon King High School.

During Bruning's tenure as a science teacher, she was a member of Classroom Teachers Association and served as a building representative. She was Bloomingdale High School's Teacher of the Year, served on the board of the Florida Association of Science Teachers, and as president of the state 0rganization.

She is currently president-elect of the Hillsborough Association of School Administrators where she’s served on the board since the late ‘90s.

Bruning received the outstanding PTSA/PTA Principal of the Year Award in 2006-07, and in 2008-09 she received a distinguished service award from her administrative peers, the Professional Involvement Award.

She said her personal philosophy has always been to treat others the way you would want to be treated.

“If you earn the student’s respect, you can teach them,” she said.

In her spare time, Bruning loves spending time with her family, reading and going to the beach.

The school board also voted to promote Denise Mobley, current assistant principal for elementary instruction at Pinecrest Elementary School, to principal of the school. She will replace retiring Principal Vicki Dotson. Mobley began teaching at Seffner and Valrico elementary schools in 1993 and became assistant principal at Pinecrest in 2004.

The school board also recognized nine graduating Hillsborough County seniors who achieved perfect attendance during their 13-year school careers. Among them were Ethan Fowler of Newsome High School and Juliana Velez of Bloomingdale High School.

In introducing the students, Mark Ackett, supervisor of attendance for the school district, commended them for the “commitment, dedication and sacrifice” they made in going to school every day for 13 years. He noted that they began their school careers in the fall of 1998 and lived through the Y2K Millennium Bug, saw the Twin Towers fall, and witnessed the election of the country’s first black president.

“But they refused to change themselves and their commitment,” Ackett said. “As Woody Allen said, ‘Eighty percent of success is just showing up.'"

In addition to receiving a commemorative clock from the school district, each of the nine students received a laptop computer from Larry Morgan, president of Toyota of Tampa Bay, a gift bag with Busch Gardens tickets from WSUF 103.5 radio and a $750 scholarship from Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union.

The students also will receive a chance to win a Toyota from Toyota of Tampa Bay on Fletcher Avenue in Tampa during a giveaway June 25 at noon.

“You’re off to a great start in your careers,” said Morgan. “The discipline you’ve shown will pay off many times over in the future.”

Fowler graduated from Newsome with a 4.59 grade point average. A member of Newsome’s golf team, he was named the hardest worker on the team his sophomore and junior years and then became captain of the golf team his senior year. In addition, he served as president of AVID at Newsome. AVID showcases students who are standouts in their classrooms, schools and communities. Fowler plans to attend Florida Gulf Coast University to major in professional golf management.

Valez graduated from Bloomingdale with a 2.66 grade point average. A dancer for nine years, she also was a member of the Health Occupation Students of America. A lover of jazz music, she plans to pursue a career in the veterinary sciences.