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Schools
New school okay if roads can bear it
By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published June 29, 2007
School officials are one step closer to building a new high school at Newsome and Gallagher roads. The Dover site is appropriate, a county zoning official said last week, as long as nearby roads are ready for increased traffic before school opens. But officials still don't know what road upgrades are necessary, how much they will cost or who will pay. As a condition of his approval of the plan, zoning hearing master Martin Smith said road improvements must be completed before the school opens or planned before construction begins. He also said school officials must commission a traffic study and agree to pay their fair share. That's a murky issue for county and school officials, who may soon head to court to sort out how much the school district must pay for infrastructure upgrades near new school sites. Smith's decision came three weeks after several residents who live near the site criticized the proposal at a contentious hearing. Seffner Community Alliance president Terry Flott, who spoke at the meeting, said Smith's conditions do not adequately ensure that roads near the school will be ready. "It's totally irresponsible on the part of all the School Board members as well as our county, " she said. "They've got to come up with something." School officials still must close on their purchase of the 102-acre site, where they also plan to build an elementary school and a middle school. The deal should be done by the end of July, chief facilities officer Cathy Valdes said. The 2, 500-student high school is scheduled to open in 2009, which she said gives officials plenty of time to prepare. "It won't open with its full number of students, " Valdes said. "The full impact will not be felt immediately, so there should be time to plan." Times staff writer Letitia Stein contributed to this report. Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 813 661-2454.
[Last modified June 28, 2007, 07:55:30]
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