The Laker/Lutz News

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Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Interlaken Road

New schools coming to Pasco County

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A groundbreaking was held Sept. 9 to begin work on a new career and technical school off Curley Road, in East Pasco County, across from a sizable development called Epperson.

Then, at the Sept. 15 Pasco County School Board meeting, a contract was approved for preconstruction work on a new 6-12 School in the emerging Angeline community in Land O’ Lakes.

Dignitaries gather to fling shovels of dirt during the ceremonial groundbreaking for Kirkland Academy of Innovation, which is scheduled to open for the 2022-2023 school year. (Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

Meanwhile, work continues on the construction of the new Starkey Ranch K-8 in the Starkey Ranch development, a growing Pasco County community.

During the groundbreaking ceremony and at the board meeting, Pasco School Board members and school district officials expressed enthusiasm about expanding educational opportunities for district students.

The 184,000-square-foot Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation, being built at 9100 Curley Road, is expected to serve 1,000 students and is scheduled to open for the 2022-2023 school year.

The school will prepare students for high-salary, high-skill careers in high-demand areas such as digital multimedia, engineering and robotics, biomedical sciences, building construction, and cyber security, according to district officials.

School board member Allen Altman is delighted with the new school, as he has been pushing for years to expand educational opportunities in East Pasco.

“That just warms my heart,” Altman said, at the board’s Sept. 15 meeting.

“I can’t tell you how many years that I’ve tried for that. The Recession kind of put us behind,” he said, then it was one thing after another.

The new facility, he said, is “just a tremendous thing for the entire county, but especially that community.”

After pushing for years to expand opportunities for East Pasco students, school board member Allen Altman is delighted about the construction of Kirkland Academy of Innovation, a new high school being built off Curley Road.

In a video of the groundbreaking, posted on Twitter, Altman put it like this: “Things came together, I believe, in almost divine intervention, with the right property, at the right time, with the right people in place to make this a success.”

In the same video, Superintendent Kurt Browning said “you know, technical education is so important. We’re excited for what it means for our students and our community.”

Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd, who also made an appearance in the video, said: “The school will sit right here, on top of this big hill, overlooking the ponds below and the oak trees. And then, behind us, on the back side of the property will have a K-8 STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) Academy, at some point, opening probably in ’24. This school will open in ’22.

“We’re literally going to put a technical school right in the middle of what will be a future suburbia for Pasco County,” Gadd said.

While the district proceeds on construction of Kirkland Academy of Innovation, it also is embarking on another project for a school known on as School LLL, which is planned for Central Pasco County.

At its Sept. 15 meeting, the board approved a $235,000 contract with Ajax Building Company for pre-construction work relating to a new 6-12 school planned for the Angeline community of Land O’Lakes.

The school will be designed for 1,694 student stations, which at 90% capacity translates to about 1,530 students.

The school will be designed on an 18-acre site within Angeline.

Construction is scheduled to begin in September 2021, with substantial completion expected in July 2023.

Meanwhile, the district has begun the boundary process for the new Starkey Ranch K-8.

A parent-night workshop is planned for Oct. 6  from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Odessa Elementary School, 12810 Interlaken Road in New Port Richey. New boundaries must be drawn to assign students to the school.

A public hearing for the boundaries proposal is planned for Nov. 17 at 6 p.m., with final school board action on Dec. 1.

Published September 23, 2020

Fleet of school buses to use alternative fuel

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Pasco County Schools is making history with a new, fast-fill station and a fleet of buses that runs on alternative fuel.

Emmett Thompson, the school district’s transportation maintenance supervisor, fuels a truck with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
(Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

The school district, in partnership with Integral Energy and Clearwater Gas System, is the first in Florida to own and operate a compressed natural gas (CNG) station to fuel its growing fleet of CNG buses.

By the end of the 2018 school year, school officials estimate the district will own 65 buses that operate on natural gas, rather than diesel or gasoline.

The fueling station, along with a new bus garage, is on about 24 acres at 13101 Interlaken Road in Odessa.

School officials, school board members and representatives with Integral Energy and Clearwater Gas celebrated the occasion with a ribbon cutting on May 16.

Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent of Pasco County Schools, center, cuts the ribbon at the new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling station as Chuck Warrington, left, of Clearwater Gas, and State Sen. Wilton Simpson watch

Guests at the event toured the buses and the fuel processing plant. The J.W. Mitchell High School jazz band entertained.

The alternative fuel is expected to offer several benefits, including reduced vehicle noise, cleaner emissions and cost efficiency.

“We’ve tried to be good stewards of our natural resources,” said Kurt Browning, the district’s superintendent.

Each bus is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 20,000 pounds a year, school officials said. Compared to clean diesel buses, they said the CNG buses would produce 13 percent less greenhouse gas, 95 percent less nitrogen oxide and 80 percent less hydrocarbon.

The CNG station can fuel a bus within 3 minutes and can pump out the equivalent of more than 10,500 gasoline gallons a day.

Members of the J.W. Mitchell High School jazz band performed at the ribbon cutting for the new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station.

It also is a state-of-the-art facility with more than 10,000 linear feet of electrical conduit buried underground. More than 50 cubic yards of concrete encase those conduits; and, each CNG storage vessel weighs more than 6,500 pounds. All of the compression equipment was American-manufactured.

Ray Gadd, the school district’s deputy superintendent, said discussion about the CNG station and using the alternative fuel began nearly six years ago.

He and other school district staff members helped shepherd the project to its completion. State Sen. Wilton Simpson sponsored a bill to create a state rebate program that can reimburse the county up to $25,000 for the cost of each bus.

In the past three years, the school district began buying new buses that run on alternative fuel.

Plans are to continue buying about 35 buses a year eventually replacing much of the school’s aging fleet of more than 450 buses. The shift will reduce reliance on gasoline and diesel-burning fuels in favor of natural gas, which burns cleaner and emits fewer toxins.

Published May 24, 2017

Committee works on school boundaries

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A committee is scheduled to meet on the morning of Oct. 13 at Oakstead Elementary School to work on a recommendation for boundaries for a new Pasco County elementary school being built in the Bexley Ranch subdivision in Land O’ Lakes.

The new school, scheduled to open in the fall of 2017, is now under construction at 4380 Ballantrae Blvd.

It is intended to relieve crowding at Oakstead and Odessa elementary schools.

A new elementary school, now known as Elementary B, is under construction in the Bexley Ranch subdivision in Land O’ Lakes. It is intended to relieve overcrowding of Oakstead and Odessa elementary schools. (Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)
A new elementary school, now known as Elementary B, is under construction in the Bexley Ranch subdivision in Land O’ Lakes. It is intended to relieve overcrowding of Oakstead and Odessa elementary schools.
(Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

During boundary deliberations, the district may also consider recommending a shift in the boundaries between Oakstead and Lake Myrtle elementary schools, to provide additional relief to Oakstead and to help increase Lake Myrtle’s enrollment. Lake Myrtle is operating below capacity and can accommodate more students.

Oakstead Elementary, at 19925 Lake Patience Road in Land O’ Lakes, has a permanent capacity of 762 students, with an enrollment of 1,095 students, and a total of 1,457 students living within its boundaries. That puts the school at 705 students over its capacity.

Odessa Elementary, at 12810 Interlaken Road in New Port Richey, has a permanent capacity of 762 students, but had 1,000 students enrolled last year, and a total of 1,058 students living within its boundaries. That puts the school at 296 students over its capacity.

Lake Myrtle Elementary, at 22844 Weeks Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes, on the other hand, has room to grow. Its permanent capacity is 736. It had 587 enrolled students, with 570 of those living within its boundaries. So, it is operating at 166 students below capacity.

While the district needs new schools to provide a place for students to learn, the practice of drawing boundaries for them always sparks controversy. Passions run high, as parents outline the various problems they envision if their child is reassigned to a new school, or — in some cases — is not. Sometimes the complaints are about academic opportunities, but often they involve day care or the ability to be involved in school activities.

Under district policy, when making recommendations, the school boundary committee should propose boundaries that:

  • Provide a balance of racial and economic diversity among populations served
  • Maintain school feeder patterns to the greatest extent possible
  • Provide room for future growth and the optimum use of schools within the proposed boundaries
  • Provide for safe and efficient transportations for students, to and from school
  • To the extent possible, incorporate complete neighborhood communities within the boundaries
  • To the extent possible, consider long-term construction plans to create as much stability as possible to areas affected by the proposed boundary changes

Anyone is welcome to attend the boundary committee meetings, but only committee members are permitted to take part in the discussions.

A parent meeting regarding the proposed boundaries has been scheduled for Nov. 1, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Oakstead Elementary School, 19925 Lake Patience Road in Land O’ Lakes.

The meeting will be in the school’s cafeteria.

Those interested are invited to hear the presentation, offer input and ask questions at that meeting.

School boundary committee meeting
When: Oct. 13 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Oakstead Elementary, 19925 Lake Patience Road, Land O’ Lakes
All are welcome. Only committee members are allowed to participate in the discussion.

Parent meeting on proposed boundaries
When: Nov. 1, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Oakstead Elementary School, 19925 Lake Patience Road, Land O’ Lakes. The meeting will be in the cafeteria.
Those interested are invited to hear the presentation, offer input and ask questions.

Published October 12, 2016

New school buses to run on natural gas

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Pasco County school buses have the green light to run on natural gas.

School officials expect the shift to save money in the long-term, while ushering in a more environmentally friendly fleet of buses.

On Feb.10, the Pasco County Planning Commission approved a recommendation from the county’s planning staff to allow construction of a bus maintenance and storage facility, and a refueling station on Interlaken Road in Odessa.

Future buses transporting children in Pasco County Schools are expected to use natural gas for fuel. (File Photo)
Future buses transporting children in Pasco County Schools are expected to use natural gas for fuel.
(File Photo)

The approximately 24-acre site on the north side of Interlaken Road will have the capacity to accommodate about 120 school buses and 180 personal vehicles.

In the first year of the program, school district officials plan to buy 30 to 35 new buses that run on fuel known as Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG. Those buses could be in service by spring of 2017.

More buses will be added year to year, slowly replacing some of the 470 buses in the fleet. The shift will reduce reliance on gasoline and diesel-burning fuels in favor of natural gas, which burns cleaner and emits fewer toxins.

Upfront costs are anticipated at about $1.5 million per year to buy buses. However, the school district could be reimbursed $25,000 per bus, up to 10 buses, through a state rebate program.

Clearwater Gas System, which is owned and operated by the city of Clearwater will supply the natural gas.

The planning commission’s approval came with conditions to address concerns raised by nearby residents.

An 8-foot masonry wall will be built. Activities within the compound will be set back 40 feet from residences, and efforts made to keep noise levels low.

Roadwork on a newly-extended Interlaken Road is under way. When completed in June, the two-lane road will have 6-foot sidewalks and an 8-foot multi-use trail.

Published February 17, 2016

School buses to run on natural gas

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Pasco County’s school district is planning to use natural gas to fuel a new fleet of buses.

On Jan. 13, the Pasco County Planning Commission will consider a proposal to rezone about 24 acres on Interlaken Road for a storage, maintenance and fueling station that can handle about 120 buses.

Future buses transporting children in Pasco County Schools are expected to use natural gas for fuel. (File Photo)
Future buses transporting children in Pasco County Schools are expected to use natural gas for fuel.
(File Photo)

Pasco County commissioners will make the final decision on the rezoning at a later date, possibly on Jan. 26.

In the first year of the program, Pasco County Schools plans to buy between 30 and 35 new buses equipped to run on fuel known as Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG. Those buses could be rolling by spring 2017, with more to come.

“Transitioning to CNG will be done over many years,” said Pasco County Schools Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd.

The district has about 470 buses in its fleet.

The goal is to shift a portion of the district’s bus fleet from gasoline and diesel-burning fuels to natural gas. The school district anticipates the shift to result in savings over time.

Buses also will burn cleaner fuel with less toxic emissions, and they will run more quietly than traditional buses.

Gadd estimates the annual cost for purchasing these buses will be about $1.5 million. A state rebate program could provide the school district with a return of $25,000 per bus, up to 10 buses.

“It helps counter the costs,” he said.

Ray Gadd is deputy superintendent of Pasco County Schools. (Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)
Ray Gadd is deputy superintendent of Pasco County
Schools.
(Courtesy of Pasco County Schools)

And, buying the buses over several years will stagger their eventual replacement dates, which also can save money. Typically, buses are replaced after 10 years. But, Gadd said a natural gas fueled bus is predicted to have a longer life of 13 to 15 years.

If the rezoning is approved, design work could begin within a month. Opening date for the approximately $7 million facility is anticipated in spring 2017.

A.D. Morgan of Tampa will build the station.

The school board briefly considered a public/private partnership, but Gadd said, “Any time you finance it, somebody is making a profit. We had the capital to build it ourselves. We are going to own it and operate it.”

The property on Interlaken is in a largely industrial area on a former tree farm.

Prior to reaching a decision, Pasco school district officials visited Clearwater Gas System, which is owned and operated by the city of Clearwater. The city was the first in Tampa Bay to build a natural gas fueling station in 2011.

Clearwater Gas will be the school district’s supplier. The utility currently serves parts of Pinellas and Pasco, including Land O’ Lakes and the community of Connerton.

At a neighborhood meeting in November, about a dozen residents met with school districts officials, according to county documents filed with the rezoning application.

They requested an eight-foot buffer wall, which Gadd said can be built.

Aside from the buses’ new sheen, parents and students won’t notice a difference from the old yellow school buses.

“It looks just like the buses we have now that people are used to seeing up and down their streets,” Gadd said.

Published January 13, 2016 

Pasco Schools to honor veterans Tuesday

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Pasco County Schools are hosting a variety of events on Veterans Day Tuesday to honor those who risked or gave their lives for America’s freedoms.

The day starts off at Wesley Chapel Center for the Arts with a Veterans Day presentation beginning at 8:30 a.m. It will include Superintendent Kurt Browning as well as Pasco County elections supervisor Brian Corley, and will honor and celebrate veterans, as well as encourage students to participate in the Vote in Honor of a Veteran program.

“This is the greatest country in the world, and we owe that to generations of men and women who have gone to war to protect our values and beliefs,” Browning said, in a release. “There is no better place for students to learn about the sacrifices and contributions of this nation’s veterans than in our schools.”

The arts center is located at 30651 Wells Road in Wesley Chapel.

Corley will join outreach ambassadors from his government office to conduct voter registration at all high schools in the county from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. On top of that, several schools will host Veterans Day programs. They include:

• Salute a Veteran at Fox Hollow Elementary School, 10 a.m. — The entire student body will have a part in honoring local veterans. Each grade level at the school, 8309 Fox Hollow Drive in Port Richey, has taken time to learn the chorus of a branch of service, and to study their assigned branch.

• Veterans Day parade at Odessa Elementary School, 10:15 a.m. — Students at the Odessa school, 12810 Interlaken Road in Port Richey, will gather to honor veterans by witnessing a patriotic musical performance by their chorus, brass quintet, sax quartet, and Mitchell High School’s color guard. Retired Lt. Col. Alan Klyap will serve as guest speaker with a parade following.

• Veterans Day program at Taylor Elementary School, 10:30 a.m. — Taylor, 3638 Morris Bridge Road in Zephyrhills, will present a program that will include the Junior ROTC from Zephyrhills High School, as well as the high school’s jazz band. Guest speaker will be Browning.

• Second Annual Salute to our Veterans at Cotee River Elementary School, 10:30 a.m. — Cotee River studeents will hear from retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Michale Cheetam, commander of the Ridgewood High School Naval Junior ROTC, as well as Daniel Gosonda from the U.S. Coast Guard, at the school, 7515 Plathe Road in Port Richey. Cheetam’s cadets will perform, and the Cotee River chorus will give a patriotic performance.

• Schrader’s Tribute to Our Veterans at Schrader Elementary School, 2 p.m. — The fifth grade students have invited parents as well as veterans to hear patriotic songs and speaking parts that honor the men and women who work every day to protect freedom. It will take place at the school, 11041 Little Road in New Port Richey.