PRINCIPAL GENEROUS TO OTHERS

But He Didn't help Himself, Friend Says

TAMPA - Anthony Giancola tried to help others at one of the lowest
points of his life, and that defines the former principal, friend
Susan Juers said - more than buying crack cocaine in his school office.

Giancola resigned his $74,000-a-year post as Van Buren Middle School
principal Friday, the day after his arrest on charges he purchased
crack from an undercover officer.

As he posted bail late Thursday, Giancola, 40, faced television
cameras and said, "I need to get my life together and then maybe from
that, other people will learn not to make the mistakes I've made."

That's the Giancola she knows, said Juers, a 35-year-old educator
from Wesley Chapel who said she has been friends with Giancola for 12 years.

"He was always a person that reached out to others," Juers said,
including students such as those at Van Buren who were most in need.
But acquaintances apparently missed whatever drove him to drugs, she
said, "which makes it so bizarre."

"He wasn't reaching out for help himself."

Just how far the charismatic Giancola fell has been captured on
videotape, Tampa police said Friday. The undercover transaction was
secretly recorded. They also revealed that a marijuana charge stems
from the discovery of a small amount in his car at the school.

As students, parents and teachers talked Friday about the departure
of their school leader, police and addiction experts said the case
shows the grip of crack cocaine, a drug that can do as much damage in
six months as alcohol does in 15 years.

"It surprises me every day who gets hooked on drugs and ruins their
life," said Tampa police Maj. George McNamara, who nonetheless said
crack use has waned significantly in the city since the late 1990s.
"We've actually had people kill relatives because they had to get
money to buy crack cocaine."

Chasing The High

When crack first emerged in the mid-1980s, it was mainly among people
too poor for other drugs, said Cary Hopkins Eyles, assistant director
for residential services at DACCO, the Drug Abuse Comprehensive
Coordinating Office in Tampa.

"You did powder if you had money, crack if you didn't," Eyles said.
Now, for most of her clients, "crack is their drug of choice."

She sees use on the rise.

Among the reasons: It's easily available; one client was offered some
at the bus stop recently; it's cheap, $10 to $20 a rock; and it's a quick high.

"The first time, it's an amazing high," Eyles said. "Then, they
continue to chase that high."

But it never comes again. Instead, users take more and more, selling
anything to get a hit. It's also a drug that is hard to leave behind.

"We have people clean for years come back," she said.

Derrick Harrelson, 43, who first used crack "a long time ago,"
arrived at the center hooked on Dec. 12.

He sympathizes with Giancola. "I really wish I could reach out to
him. . Crack does not discriminate. I've seen doctors, lawyers,
judges, principals. Black, white, Latino."

Harrelson has bought crack across the area. "It's in New Tampa and
Beach Park. It's like buying the Tribune. It's everywhere."

Police said Giancola told them he started using crack in December and
developed a habit that cost several hundred dollars a day. Eyles
didn't find that figure unusual.

'A Complete Breakdown'

On Friday, cars were parked in the small circular driveway outside
the Giancola house on Tyrone Boulevard in St. Petersburg. No one
answered the door, however, when a reporter knocked.

Neighbor Linda Stees described Giancola as an outstanding man.

"If this happened, he's had a complete breakdown," Stees said,
standing in her doorway.

"He is the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back
and ask if there's anything more he could do for you."

His friend Juers said the crack must have come from a chance encounter.

"I don't believe he sought it out," she said. "I think it was
presented to him at a moment of weakness. ... Someone gave him a
moment to escape."

And he took it, she surmised, "not realizing you have to return to
the reality, and that pain is still there."

Couple Was Working On Problems

Juers said she was last in touch with Giancola in November, a month
before he said he started using crack. She was a bridesmaid at the
wedding of Giancola and his wife, Andrea, 36, a science teacher at
Monroe Middle School.

"For some reason, events in his life have had a tremendous impact on
the decisions he's made, which is heartbreaking," Juers said. "I
understood there were some problems in the marriage. When we last
spoke, they were both really interested and active and working on it
because there was a true love between them."

The couple share a love of boats and cooking, Juers said. They used
to throw Halloween parties and loved to entertain.

Juers said Anthony Giancola was drawn to help disadvantaged students.
While he didn't take any "garbage" from the students, he also "looked
at every single kid as if they had a chance."

"Now those poor kids," she said. "I don't want them to think he
didn't mean it, because he did."

'A Sad Incident At Our School'

Students at Van Buren were met Friday morning with an announcement
from Assistant Principal Allison Edgecomb, who is temporarily taking
the helm until a new principal can be hired.

"Yesterday, there was a sad incident at our school that I need to
talk to you about," Edgecomb said. "As you may have heard, Mr.
Giancola was arrested yesterday and charged with a very serious crime."

The school district provided a four-member crisis team, which spoke
to about 15 students and several staff members, according to district
spokesman Steve Hegarty.

"That doesn't include all the conversations that went on in the
classrooms and the teachers lounge. There were a lot of heartfelt
conversations," along with tears and hugs, he said.

A school district spokeswoman said the district will conduct an audit
of the school's finances, which is a standard procedure any time a
principal leaves a school.

Some students fear the distraction from Giancola's arrest will affect
results on next week's FCAT.

"I don't think kids are going to be able to concentrate,"
sixth-grader Katherine Robinson said. "Everybody will be talking about this."

Principals Fostered Change

Even before the arrest, Van Buren faced challenges.

The school, near Busch Gardens, is in the middle of a community where
people move in and out and drug crime is common.

Last year, 204 drug arrests were made in the area surrounding the
school. Of the 850 students, 84 percent are classified as
economically disadvantaged.

Many credited Giancola and previous Principal Vince Aguero for
fostering change at the school. New reading programs were put in
place, and extra tutoring sessions were added. The school also
underwent a $6 million renovation.

In 2006, Van Buren earned its first B grade in the eight years that
grades have been issued from the state. The school recently ranked
No. 33 on the state Department of Education's list of 75 most
improved middle schools.

In a Tampa Tribune interview after his appointment to Van Buren in
July, Giancola said it was important to balance academics with fun.

"There is a much stronger emphasis on academic achievement and
accountability," Giancola said.

"Still, it's very important we remember to teach the whole child. A
school is a place for learning, but learning has to be fun."

'I Couldn't Believe' It

The arrest left some parents uneasy. George Cordero witnessed
Giancola's arrest while waiting to pick up his seventh-grade daughter.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Cordero said. "I couldn't
believe it was the principal in handcuffs. It really makes me worry
about the faculty of this school and what else might be going on."

Though some parents were outraged the arrest took place on campus,
Cordero said he understood.

"The police did what they had to do. They had to get this guy as soon
as possible."

Police Capt. John Newman said officers made the arrest as
inconspicuously as possible.

"It was very surgical," Newman said. "They had him off that campus
inside three minutes."

The arrest didn't keep students away Friday. The attendance rate was
86 percent higher than a normal Friday.

Reporters Sherri Ackerman, Michele Sager and Steven Thompson
contributed to this report.