LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Something big threatens to distract students during the FCATs at one Lake County school. Spring Creek Elementary School in Paisley (see map) sits on the edge of the Ocala National Forest, but that's not the only thing it's near.
The school also sits along the no-fly zone of the Pinecastle Bombing Range in the Ocala National Forest, where the Navy is dropping live bombs all week.
At Spring Creek Elementary School, Principal Bob Curry says it started around 9:00am Tuesday.
"We knew it was coming, because we had seen the schedule," he said.
The Navy began dropping live bombs.
"Things don't break, or anything of that nature. The building shakes just a little bit, for a split second," Curry explained.
But this may not be the best week for military maneuvers.
"It's not great timing. The Navy didn't contact us and let us know," said Chris Patton, Lake County Schools.
Students are taking the FCAT and much is riding on what they do with a number 2 pencil.
"It goes to student achievement, goes to the school grade, which a lot of people look upon for how their school is performing. And now, it's going to play a role for teacher merit pay," Patton explained.
Parents at Spring Creek say, for some students at the B-rated school, bombs and FCATs won't mix.
"A lot of the kids that go here probably aren't used to it like the ones who live in the surrounding area, but to us it's nothing. We're just used to it," nearby resident Jennifer Hannan told WFTV.
The Navy has a hotline to take complaints about the noise. The principal and administrators at district headquarters called, but the live bombing will not be postponed, not even for the FCAT.
WFTV