School Board pines for private offices

But a proposal to spend more than $100,000, even in a "frugal way,'' draws criticism.

By KELLY RYAN GILMER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 12, 2002

LARGO -- In an era of hiring freezes and budget cuts, Pinellas School Board members may spend more money on the administration building dubbed the "Taj Mahal."

They want their own offices.

One early cost estimate: between $100,000 and $200,000.

In Hillsborough County, seven School Board members share one room with two desks. By that measure, the seven Pinellas School Board members already have it made. They have a reception area, a break room and a third room with seven desks and a conference table.

Now they may build seven individual private offices for phone calls and closed-door meetings.

"It's a matter of constituent service," board member Linda Lerner said this week. "It should be done in the most frugal way."

Even modest renovations would stir up complaints if the School Board votes to build the offices.

Board members discussed eliminating summer school this week. The district already has been criticized by legislators and others for spending another $61,000 a year to keep Superintendent Howard Hinesley.

Jade Moore, executive director of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers' Association, said School Board members shouldn't spend money for new offices.

"I'm sure there's plenty of vacant rooms over there," Moore said. "We've had hiring freezes. We've transferred people back to the classroom. They wouldn't have to do any renovation. Wouldn't that work out fine? And the public would think, wow, the School Board is looking out for our money."

Several School Board members indicate they are aware of the potential public relations problem.

Board member Lee Benjamin said Friday he has never needed more than a desk in 11 years on the board. He urged the board to drop any thoughts of individual offices.

"With the financial situation as it is, I am sure there will be needs in schools for other renovations," Benjamin said. "It's not the right time."

Board members Carol Cook and Max Gessner agree that the timing is bad, but Gessner said the office's inadequacy must be addressed at some point.

Gessner and Lerner also underscored this week a budgeting nuance: Recent budget cuts are in the district's operating fund, and money for new offices would come from a different account.

"The source of funds would be capital outlay money," Gessner said Friday, "not money that would go to the classrooms."

Board member Nancy Bostock said she wants more information, including the precise cost and whether the old furniture would fit. She and others want to know whether this project would force the slowdown of other construction projects. Hinesley said he doesn't think it would.

Now, each board member has a desk (about 2 feet wide and 5 feet long), two drawers, a chair and a small bulletin board. Partitions separate the desks.

The problem?

Board members and their two-person staff handles sensitive issues that often deal with confidential student records. They say their office affords no privacy.

Because they sit so close to one another, board members also worry they are often on the verge of violating the state's open meetings laws that prevent elected officials from talking about public business in private.

An architect has drawn plans for board members to move across the hall, to a conference room previously used by the curriculum department. Under the plans, each board member would have a private office about 7 feet wide.

The plans cost several thousand dollars. The architect is donating that money to the Pinellas Education Foundation, district officials said.

Now, board members want to know whether the new offices would be adequate.

At a workshop this week, they asked Hinesley to tape off the room to show how large the offices would be. A computer model is being generated to show how furniture would look. That information will be presented to board members at a workshop soon, and then a final decision will be made about whether the project should proceed.

Facilities director Tony Rivas said he would guess that the cost would fall between $100,000 and $200,000.

New furniture would cost extra.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright