ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- The Florida Board of Education blasted the Orange County School District for its failing schools. At a meeting Tuesday, it said the district isn't following through on a plan to improve its 'F' schools, but Orange County's superintendent wasn't there to hear any of the criticism.

GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts

---

THE GRADES: 2006 Florida School Grades

---

James Lawson is the assistant superintendent responsible for Jones High School and Tuesday morning he probably wished he could be anywhere else. Lawson became the target of an angry Florida Board of Education, because his boss, School Superintendent Ron Blocker didn't bother to show up.

Board members are furious at the district's inability to fix the chronic problems at Jones High School, where only 14 percent of students read at grade level and which, for the fifth year in a row, has achieved an 'F' rating.

Of 22 preexisting requirements the board had set for repeat 'F' schools, Jones failed to satisfy 17 of them.

When Eyewitness News sat in on FCAT testing day at Jones, they thought they were doing everything they needed, but Lawson said Orange County's school leaders simply didn't realize they had 22 requirements to meet, like private reading coaches and alignment of feeder schools, and now the state says Orange County has failed to deliver for half a decade.

School may be out for the summer, but school leaders have their work cut out for them over the next month. The Board of Education has given the district four weeks to come into compliance on a variety of requirements.

One month from now, if the district hasn't done what the board demands, it can lose funding or even take control of the school itself.

Orange County was the only Central Florida school district with an 'F' school this year. In addition to Jones, Evans High School, Hungerford Elementary and Summit Charter West all received Fs.