The School Board also votes to switch to a cheaper employee insurance plan, losing open access.
By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published July 23, 2003
LAND O'LAKES - Land sale negotiations have stalled again in the Pasco County School Board's attempt to purchase 90 acres for a new Wesley Chapel high school, superintendent John Long told board members Tuesday evening.
"It's almost to the point that it will be impossible to get it built in time," Long said.
The school district has been looking to buy the Wiregrass Ranch property from the Porter family to relieve overcrowding at Wesley Chapel and Land O'Lakes high schools.
The district had hoped to open by 2005. But Long said he thinks it's becoming more and more of a long shot.
Attorneys for the School Board and for the property owners are trying to hammer out problems.
"Some of the verbal agreements we had in my office seemed to have changed," Long said.
Among the issues the two sides are in disagreement over, Long said, are whether the current owners will fill the land in with existing soil and whether they will have a road built on the property before the sale.
Without going into details, Long told board members that another parcel of land nearby might be usable for the same price as the Wiregrass Ranch site - $30,000 per acre.
"If that other piece of property becomes available, I would recommend that we buy it," he said.
District drops United, saving $650,000
In other business Tuesday, School Board members voted 5-0 to approve changing insurance providers for the district's 6,600 employees from United HealthCare to Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Bill Alexander, director of employee benefits, told the School Board that the move was a difficult one that came down to a matter of cost. Blue Cross/Blue Shield offered a plan that was $650,000 less than United's final bid.
"They were both great plans," Alexander said. "What we lose is continuity and open access, which is very popular."
Under the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan, employees will have to get referrals to see specialists in some cases, a requirement that did not exist under the old plan.
"I know we had a good relationship with United, but I'm looking forward to having a good relationship with Blue Cross/Blue Shield," Long said. "It was almost impossible for us not to look at the bottom line of cost."
The district is still negotiating for an employee prescription plan.
