New school would be off Sunset Lane, near US 41
By B.C. Manion
Learning Gate Community School wants to expand its brand of environmental education into high school and is proposing a new school near Nye Park, off Sunset Lane.
A public hearing on the request had been set for Jan. 23, but school officials have asked for a continuance until 6 p.m. on Feb. 20. That hearing will be at County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd in downtown Tampa.
More time is needed to continue addressing neighbors’ concerns, said Patti Girard, the founder of Learning Gate, a charter school that began as a private preschool in 1983 and became a public charter school in 2000.
Learning Gate draws students from many communities in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, including Lutz, Trinity, Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel.
The school has an elementary campus on 27 wooded acres at 16215 Hanna Road, and leases space for grades seven through nine in an office building at 15316 N. Florida Ave.
It boasts a number of environmental awards, including the first modular school building in the country to achieve the platinum designation in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools program.
The proposed charter high school, which would open at its new location in two years, would be called Gates Senior High. It would serve students in grades seven through 12, Girard said, noting the high school program will added a grade a year until it has freshmen through senior classes.
The proposed school draws its name from its five areas of emphasis: Global outreach, the arts, technology, environment and sustainability in all ways, including finances.
Girard said she understands that neighbors are concerned about the new school’s potential impacts.
“When you think high school, you think of a typical (high school) – like Gaither – coming out there. That’s not the case at all,” Girard said.
The proposed charter school would have a maximum of 1,000 students on a 66-acre campus, which has extensive wetlands, Girard said.
“We don’t have one big huge building,” she said. Instead, there will be several buildings with smaller footprints, scattered across campus.
The goal is to use energy-efficient materials and to produce enough energy on site, through such sources as solar, wind and water — to avoid needing an outside source of electricity, Girard said.
Gary Schutz, who lives in the Windemere subdivision, said he applauds what the school is trying to do, but he is concerned about the traffic congestion the project will create and potential safety hazards.
The project will overload Sunset Lane and could lead to traffic hazards on US 41, as cars attempt to make U-Turns to turn around, Schutz said.
Girard said traffic appears to be a key issue.
To minimize impacts, the school will require carpooling and will use two entrances – one off Sunset Lane and the other off US 41, she said. It also will stagger school starting and ending times to reduce congestion.
Access to the site will affect about1 percent of the site’s wetlands, Girard said.
“There’s no way for us to get to (US) 41 without impacting the wetlands to some degree,” she said.
A suggestion was made to bridge the wetlands, but that option would cost about $1 million, which the school cannot afford, Girard said.
Denise Layne, of the Lutz Civic Association, said the association hasn’t decided yet whether it will support or oppose the proposed high school. Progress has been made on the traffic issues, but there are still concerns about environmental impacts, Layne said.
Neighbors have also voiced worries about potential flooding, Girard said.
However, she said the school must meet the county’s requirements to prevent that from occurring. She also noted that the school plans to use porous concrete and pavers – which allows water to be absorbed, rather than sheeting off.
Girard said she planned to meet with neighbors again on Monday, to continue working on their concerns.
“We want to be good partners. We’re really trying to listen,” she said. “I think some of them are still learning to trust me and what I say. Believe me, I understand,” she said.