development ins an 8 on your sign investigation. schools in chaos. the company running up huge debt managing four pinellas county charter schools is out. however, is the new company any better? the principal of one of the schools is finally talking to us. that school was windsor prep academy an it is facing some big financial troubles tonight. >> one of the three remaining board members has resigned. mark douglas has been hot on the heels of these school leaders. mark, i understand you dug up even more troubles. >> reporter: taxpayer troubles starting with $1.6 million with the schools reportedly borrowed from the management company that runs the schools. not even the charter schools or the company can show us when the loans were made and who hay proved them. all we got was lip service tuesday from the president of new point education partners. that is the day aileen quinnlan

of windsor prep and other charter schools to another organization. >> your website says transparency matters. wouldn't this be a great time to demonstrate that? >> yes. >> reporter: we have been asking her for days about the loans that her company reportedly made to windsor prep and other schools while managing the same charter schools. she says she doesn't have any executed lone documents. june unsigned drafts. she can't show us proof of who approved them or if they even exist. windsor's school board chairman won't whisper a word about it. he won't talk about his school's new management company either. >> i will direct all questions to the attorney. >> why? >> we want to make sure everything is proper on the record. >> reporter: the new management company, alliance education services hand picked by new point was supposed to hold a meet and greet in the school

was canceled last night. >> what they wanted to do was not be a distraction. >> reporter: on its website, alliance claims to manage five charter schools including lutz prep. ballutes prep and another school say that is dead wrong. and a third school on the list is not even open yet. >> it is sad. just feels like we are getting lied to constantly. >> reporter: getting three out of five schools wrong on your own website brag list sounds like a failing grade to us. >> well, i can't. you know. comment on that. >> reporter: i understand. but as a principal, if a student hands in a paper ... >> absolutely. >> reporter: we are still waiting to hear back from the new management team and for some reason, they won't respond to any of our e-mails or our phone calls. we hope to see them at windsor school board meeting next week. meanwhile, here is my grade. and i hope they are watching. i will give them a chance to improve it.

around with a simple call. >> we have seen parents do something about this. we have seen people call you, what about the school board? >> reporter: the district is involved in an inquiry. they have given the schools until april 5 to submit what they call a correcteddive action plan to get this financial thing under control. so that's the latest deadline. but as you can see, new questions everyday and we are raising a lot of them and we are not waiting until april 5. we are continuing to ask everyday what is going on. >> a better grade than an f. >> a lot of room for improvement. >> by the way, we want to know what you think about this. would you like a situation like this deter you from sending your student to a private school? join in on the discussion on our newschannel8 facebook page. polk county sheriff grady judd firing back at a criminal who taunted the sheriff. >> check this out. today sheriff judd posted two

a before and after showing cederic carr's smiling selfies taunting the sheriff. on the right, his new mug shot after he was arrested yet again. newschannel8's melissa moreno is live in polk county. what did the sheriff have to say? >> reporter: he is not letting this career criminal live this down. that taunting facebook message helped to land him in jail. from smug selfies to this. and, a mug shot. >> reporter: cederic carr jr. has been on the run for a robbery since february. when he found out deputies were looking for him, he posted this on facebook. >> we not only stopped his show, but we gave him a new arena in which to operate. >> reporter: sheriff judd took

>> if you violate the law and taunt our deputies, you will go to jail faster. >> reporter: they found him in a stolen car and drugs and a gun. he posted two pictures, a before and after showing carr's taunting selfies next to his new mug shot with the message it is not usually a good idea to taunt the sheriff's office on facebook. and yes, we did stop your show. newschannel8 went to carr's last known address to see what his family thought. >> i ain't got nothing to talk about. >> yeah. >> reporter: sheriff judd made mementos of the pictures. >> he thought he was cool. well buck-o, say ah. we got you at the county jail now. >> reporter: well, carr is still in jail being held without bond.

something like this happened not too long ago. >> reporter: that's right. last summer a teen posted a similar taunting message. he had a warrant out for his arrest and he posted you won't catch me. well deputies caught him and arrested him. >> don't mess with grady. melissa, thank you very much. all right, tampa first responders are seeing a very concerning increase in the amount of spice use here in the city. for march 5, through the 9, they responded to some 30 calls involving suspected or admitted use of that synthetic drug. 12 of those calls occurred in the very same day. >> as we have these calls and these individuals are using these drug us, they are increasingly violent and/or just noncooperative and combative. >> police say they are working hard to slow this trend. however, they add, it is very difficult to do that. the production of the drug tending to out-pace the laws.

shooting in pinellas county that injured a three-year-old girl in saint petersburg. police found this car believed to be part of the shooting abandoned. the child and a 23-year-old man were both shot while sitting on a porch. they are expected to survive. if you travel u.s. 41, get ready for a traffic nightmare. starting monday. the florida department of transportation is closing down the road to repair the railroad crossing in lutz. that construction is slated to last about two weeks. in the meantime, you have to use florida avenue and delmavery highway. they are concerned that the extra traffic will spill into neighborhood streets. >> there's kids on the roads. vehicles safety, police. all those. the delay in time is going to hurt someone. >> fdot hopes it won't be too much congestion since spring break is next week.

krenshaw lake road. a man who took deputies on a wild chase is behind bars tonight. >> what the sheriff has to say about this dangerous driver. plus, more speeding drivers but these are okay. these guys are racing in the grand prix. still ahead, we will show you how you can catch all of the action. >> above average temperatures and sunshine has been the story this week. but we are tracking some changes as we head into this weekend. it does include higher rain chances. we will let you know the timing of that coming up in our forecast. >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching newschannel8.

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>> in sarasota county tonight, a man wanted for taking photos up a woman's skirt, he now has a picture of his own on the sheriff's office website. james lily jr. was caught on camera following a woman in a store. he crouched down to snap pictures under her church. in polk county, detectives busted two more perverts at a park. 83-year-old john reynolds was arrested for performing a lewd

he was arrested in 2014 for doing the same thing. 51-year-old andrew carney was also arrested at the boat ramp for exposing himself. another story on polk county grady judd. he has thoughts for a man who led his deputies on a hospices chase. >> here it comes. >> a witness was rolling videos when deputies sped by chasing a pickup truck. the pickup drove through a pasture and then a fence and then right into a ditch. he even crashed into another truck and kept going before deputies finally caught him. >> he need to be in prison. that's the only place he will be safe and the only place that the community is going to be safe. she going to kill himself and/or someone else. >> tonight, tad witworth is facing a long list of charges. race cars are buzzing in

these are legal. >> they are. coming up, everything you need to know to catch this week eked

>> the speed limit on some downtown saint petersburg streets temporarily suspended. no so you can go faster, but so the fire stone grand prix racers can push their limits. >> it is an event of noise, the smell of gasoline, and a lot of speed. peter bernard joins us now. he is live track side.

hard fans out there. >> reporter: i did, they are so excited about this. let me tell you guys, this is how i got by today. ear plugs. it is very loud. there are a lot of big time race fans out here and they live for this kind of event. fans get a few seconds every minute or so to see the race cars go by. this man drove his porshe at sebring and goes to the indy 500 every year. >> it sends shivers up your spine. despite the fact you are standing still. >> reporter: what every racer dreads happened on the waterfront slight left. an indy car sideswiped the wall. and broke into pieces. we could see the driver get out. >> i'm here for the turns. and, i'm here for the passes. the wrecks are not something

it is part of the deal, but not something i enjoy at all. >> reporter: fans had to go through metal detectors an back checks in an enhanced security effort. they equate it to what happened at football games and other events. it didn't seem to hold up lines. inside, we found this fan with an autographed cap who traveled all the way from buffalo, new york. >> the cars, the rush, you know. it's exciting! >> reporter: the turning heads showed just how fast you have to be to see the action. we slowed it down a tad so you can catch what is really happening. the race appeals to all ages. >> is this something you would encourage him to get into? >> absolutely not. his mother would kill me. >> reporter: a 5k race will be going on in a few minutes. there are all kinds of activities at the park. and racing resumes tomorrow at the crack of dawn.

space to come watch the space. what does it cost for a ticket? >> it is not cheap. general admission is the cheapist way to go. $35 saturday, $50 sunday because that's the main event that will be televised all right. have fun down there. while. >> keep the ear plugs in. >> by the way, on wfla.com, we have everything you need to know for the grand prix of saint petersburg including the ticket information and everything you cannot bring. an awesome view this evening from frenchy's out at clear water beach as the sunsets there. beautiful with just a fair weather cumulus clouds in the background. the winds are fairly light out of the northwest. folks are out enjoying the beaching. it has been excellent for that. and the rest of your friday

partly cloudy skies, still warm. as we head into tomorrow morning look for temperatures in the upper 60s . it will only get warmer from there on out. so if you are heading to some of the spring training games, ebbing perfect temperatures at the start of the game to be close tore 80 degrees. we are just calling for a slim 10% chance of a stray shower during the game. partly cloudy skies you can see no rain. tonight. plans. here is where we have seen the active weather out west. high pressure has kept us dry and has blocked any of these storm systems from moving into the tampa bay area, but they have been moving into places like eastern texas, louisiana, mississippi, and some of the rainfall totals are pretty impressive. over a foot of rain sent monday in places like louisiana and mississippi. so, obvious we will see why they are deal with some massive flooding still at this point. for us, it has been completely dry this week.

82 in plant city. 81 in lakeland. coming in at 80 in auburndale. 81 currently in arcadia. partly cloudy skies staying warm for us. all the way through the late night hours. we will begin the day in the upper 60s and end in the low 80s . a few small showers may develop, but shouldn't amount to much. by sunday, showers begin in the morning hours and some of our northern areas an then we will continue to spread inland as with head into the afternoon and evening pushes away from the coast so it is possible we could see a few showers during the grand prix races tomorrow. sea fog could also be an issue along the coast. it may not be the best of beach days for tomorrow. just fair warning. adds we head into monday, a small rain chance with a front and fog could be an issue on monday as well. but sunday looks to be the main day we will be tracking some

you can take a look at those rain chances. that slim 10% chance on saturday. sunday, we will call for a 40% chance of rain. 20% chance we could still have lingering showers around on monday. and dry throughout the rest of next week. what we are not expecting an improvement in, is the pollen. allergy sufferers not happy with meteorologists at this point. but high pollen count is expected. we won't see enough rain to really knock those numbers down. so they will remain in the high range through much of next week. temperatures also remaining a little bit in the high range. the low 80s . notice saint patty's day, some of you may already be making the party plans. low 80s , partly cloudy skies. not a batted forecast. we haven't seen rain in a while. we are a little due. we will have to get through sunday. >> as long as it is not a washout. >> it will make for a slick track at the races. >> that is where they could really run into some issues.

are you betting the horses at tampa bay downs tomorrow? we found a trainer who says his horse is going to win the derby. >> plus, the bucs sign a player with baggage.

>> nothing ventured, nothing gained. today, the buccaneers took a flier on a guy that could be boom, bust, or both. corner back brent grimes. tampa bay signed him to a two year contract worth up to $16.5 million with incentives. the four-time pro bowler made

all of the bucks corners combined. he comes with an awful the field distraction. google his wife mico.. the bucs have robert ayers jr. as well. he made 9.5 sacks with the giants last season. the most of any free agent to hit the market in 2016. the lightning are lacking brotherly love for the flyers. the broad street bullies are in town tonight and the bolts hope to have a better showing. >> you have to make sure you are firing on all cylinders. >> seems like last 15 games of the season is when things start to amp up and people are looking at the standings and you have teams coming in like philly trying to get into the playoffs. there's a lot of desperate hockey and it is as close to

without being in the playoffs. >> if you prefer the track to the ice, tampa bay downs is the place to be tomorrow for the tampa bay derby. brody's cause is one of the favorites. he is on the bubble of the kentucky derby field already and they believe his cause is a lock tomorrow. >> i expect him to win. he's a tough horse. we have come over here to win. he is one of the favorites. >> south florida taking on top seeded temple. check out jamal mcmurray. hits a buzzer beating three. second half, usf still hanging around. crisper ritzheimer, dunk you

point shot. temple wins 79-62. usf is 8-25. the gators have to play the top line in the sec tournament. this one close throughout. casey hill steals and slams to tie it. he will score it at 18 points. fast forward to the final two minutes. the gators cough it up. alex carusso goes the distance for a lay-in. texas a&m wins 72-66. the bubble is likely popped. also, the valspar. two players tied. a couple of games in contention there. details tonight at 11:00. >> they had a beautiful day for golf. finally tonight, the salvation army's women's auxiliary are on the front line of helping victims of human trafficking. they had a fashion show to raise funds. the one and only beautiful ms. gayle guyardo was the mc of the event.

decades in the bay area and the money stays right here in our local salvation army. >> what a great cause. thank you very much for joining us tonight. don't go anywhere. nightly news is coming up next. >> back at 7:00. ugh. i really shouldn't. no, you know what? i should. and i will. i deserve this. i'm a bogo findin', weekly ad flippin', couponing mastermind. who's saving big time? this girl! can i help you? indeed. this queen of savings deserves a reward. a cannoli, please. the weekly ad, bogos

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breaking news tonight, frantic rescues. families on rooftops clinging to trees. homes suddenly destroyed as historic floods rage for millions, states of emergency getting more dangerous. violence and vulgar ree erupt at another trump rally. tensions boil over. a man dragged away bloody and trump's campaign manager under fire as a reporter charges him of assault. a stunning twist. was a member of putin's inner circle murdered in america? airport nightmare. just in time for