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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 26, 2002
The quest to build an alternative high school for troubled students in Pinellas County reaches voters on Nov. 5.
In this county referendum question, the School Board is asking permission to lease or purchase a 10-acre site at the corner of 49th Street and 145th Avenue, across from the Criminal Justice Center. The land is appraised at roughly $2.4-million, and the school itself would be built with $15-million in sales tax pledged for the project.
The school is designed to serve 500 students who aren't functioning well in regular high school classes and, in some cases, may have criminal records. The board had also considered a different location, next to High Point Elementary School, but settled on 49th Street in part because of strong and, in some cases, unwarranted opposition from High Point residents. The High Point site offers some advantages, but the 49th Street site also gets the job done. The School Board already has approved the school's construction; voters here are being asked merely to allow the lease/purchase of the 49th Street site.
We recommend a yes vote.