Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

School's rapid opening will thin crowds at 3 others

UNIVERSITY AREA The district pays a bargain price for Temple Heights Christian to ease the crowding at Pizzo, Shaw and Witter.

By AMBER MOBLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published August 31, 2007

The Hillsborough County School District is in the process of another speedy school opening to ease crowding in northern Hillsborough.

The district could finalize its purchase of the Temple Heights Christian School, 8406 N 46th St., as early as Oct. 30.

The campus would open in August 2008, hold up to 600 students and ease crowding at three nearby elementary schools - Pizzo, Shaw and Witter.

Two appraisals have valued the property at $7-million or more, but the district has negotiated a purchase price of $4-million, which the School Board approved on Aug. 21.

"We can terminate the contract anytime in between now and then, but we have every intention of closing on Oct. 30," said Cathy Valdes, the district's chief facilities officer.

The campus, which includes a gym, kitchen and auditorium, will need extensive work to be brought up to state codes, but it is too early to put a price on the fixes, Valdes said. If the purchase is completed, student reassignment from crowded Pizzo, Shaw and Witter could start as early as January.

Pizzo and Witter are currently at about 119 percent capacity.

The district's reassignment of nearly 300 students from Shaw Elementary to a school site at the Museum of Science and Industry this school year took Shaw from 152 percent capacity to 115 percent.

The MOSI Partnership School, another quick turnaround for the district, took only a few weeks to complete.

Amber Mobley can be reached at amobley@sptimes.com or 813 269-5311.

[Last modified August 30, 2007, 22:47:15]