TAMPA - -- When Chiaramonte Elementary Principal Marie Valenti wanted a covered play court for her school, she collected money from fall festivals, candy sales and even a community concert.

It took 14 years to raise $28,000.

Her days of struggling soon may be over.

With Tampa City Council approval, her south Tampa school could earn about $160,000 over five years renting space on its front lawn for a 150-foot cell phone tower disguised as a flagpole.

Chiaramonte would become the fourth Hillsborough County school to allow a tower on campus to raise money for school improvements.

"Whatever my teachers need to enhance their program, they're going to get it," Valenti said.

Some Florida school districts have concerns about cell towers, which some researchers say transmit potentially harmful radio frequency radiation.

Long-term health questions led Orange County's school board in April to impose a moratorium on building cell towers at schools. A few months later, the board lifted its moratorium.

"Our experts have said there's no risks, and so we're going to allow them," said Frank Kruppenbacher, the board's general counsel.

Towers still can't be built at elementary schools, however, because of potential objections from residents, he said.

Hillsborough school board Chairwoman Candy Olson said the towers are a "great source of income." She said she hadn't seen evidence they are harmful.

Benito Middle in New Tampa, McKitrick Elementary in Lutz and Gaither High in Northdale have cell towers. Built in 2000, Gaither's tower is behind the school, near student parking. Principal Brenda Grasso said it hasn't been an issue and generates about $1,700 a month for the school for maintenance and other improvements.

McKitrick's tower, which was built before the school opened in 2001, is in a wetland area at the rear of the school property. Benito's tower is behind the soccer field.

"It has never been an issue here," Benito Principal Bobby Smith said. "It stands there doing its job, and nobody's made concerns known about it."

'Is It Safe Or Isn't It Safe?'

The Federal Communications Commission says there's no evidence cell towers are dangerous.

Robert Cleveland, senior scientist in the FCC's office of engineering and technology in Washington, said cell phone use exposes users to more radiation than cell phone towers.

John Moulder, professor of radiation oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, has studied radio frequency radiation as a cancer-causing agent and consulted for the cell phone industry.

He said Chiaramonte students won't be exposed to much radiation unless they climb to the tower's peak. Even then, he said, they would face a greater risk of falling off it or being electrocuted.

Bill Johnson, professor of telecommunications engineering technology at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y., considers cell phone towers safe but said it's "impossible to prove that."

"I guess I wouldn't have a problem having one in my back yard," he said. "Now, my wife, on the other hand, has threatened to divorce me if we ever get one in the back yard."

Others are concerned, too.

Upset by contracts between cell phone companies and the school district, parents in Fairfax County, Va., established a Web site to protest.

"We certainly cannot undo the damage if we find that this is a problem," said Diana Barbera, who helped start the site, www.protectschools.org. "When there's a tossup of 'Is it safe or isn't it safe?' shouldn't the tie go to the kids?"

Council To Consider Zoning

Ridan Industries' zoning request for the Chiaramonte tower likely won't be considered before February, said Gloria Moreda, Tampa's zoning supervisor.

The school board has approved the tower proposal.

T-Mobile and Metro PCS have agreed to use the tower, said Kevin Barile, president of the south Tampa-based Ridan.

Carriers using Ridan towers generally pay $1,500 to $2,000 a month, Barile said, and Ridan typically pays $1,000 to $1,500 a month to lease space for its towers.

Barile said his company will pay more for the Chiaramonte lease because it is school property.

The tower would boost signal strength within a 1 1/2 -mile radius of the one-story school at 6001 S. Himes Ave., he said.

The Gandy Civic Association, which includes Chiaramonte within its boundaries, doesn't have enough information to take a stance on the tower proposal, President Mike Hursey said. But radiation is a significant concern, he said.

Several parents and residents supported the tower proposal during a neighborhood meeting.

Valenti, the school's principal, doesn't see a health risk and said Chiaramonte needs the money to upgrade technology.

"This is for the kids," she said.

Marie Kaufman, whose 10-year-old son, Austin, attends Chiaramonte, said she has no safety concerns.

"The school needs the money," she said, "and I'm all for it."