Honey bees not so sweet for some students

By: Isabel Mascareñas

Brandon, Florida - Playing outside can be a challenge for students at Limona Elementary. PE Coach Christy Harrigan says there are days the kids are running away from bees.

"Thursday and Friday were hard days. It was bad… the bees were swarming, making it hard to teach. They were distracted by the bees, they were afraid they were going to sting them,” says Harrigan.

On Thursday, one teacher and a student were reportedly stung.

Harrigan says, “In the last one and half years, the problem has gotten progressively worse.”

The school is neighbors with a bee farm and they've been dealing with more stings than ever. The school reports 46 bee stings between August and November 2006.

Parent Jane Bell sees the bees most days while waiting to pick up her son.

"I notice them, just sitting here in the car line every day, buzzing around. It scares my daughter, so I don't keep windows down."

Jane Bell's 7-year-old son Sam got stung on the arm in May. "Where I got stung, it felt like it was on fire,” recalls Sam.

School officials believe the bee hives on a neighboring property is to blame for the bee attacks and for bee droppings on cars. Some school employees keep their cars covered while at work.

School district officials say they haven't had much success resolving the problem. On Tuesday the school district attorney will ask the school board to take legal action.

"Whether it involves a lawsuit or our attorney talking to their attorney, it's something that can't go on," says Hillsborough School District spokesperson Steve Hegarty.

Bee keeper Steve Grande tells 10 News he's been trying to work with the school. Grande says he's planted shrubs, flowering trees and wild flowers, and he added an irrigation system to help contain the bees. Grande says he's done what he can short of removing his beehives and that, he says, is not an option.

Parent Jane Bell says she would like to see the bees gone. “I don't want to put anybody out of work or their lively hood. But still, we need to protect the children."