When Sanders Memorial Elementary School reopens in 2015-16, the Land O’ Lakes campus will have an entirely new look. It’s undergoing a $16.9 million renovation.
Quail Hollow Elementary School in Wesley Chapel is undergoing a $10.5 million makeover. It, too, is expected to reopen in 2015-16.
Work already is underway on a new gymnasium at Stewart Middle School in Zephyrhills. That $4.6 million project is slated for completion in time for next school year, said Chris Williams, director of planning services for Pasco County Schools.
Those are just three of the scores of projects contained in the $192 million five-year work plan approved by the Pasco County School Board on Sept. 17.
One big-ticket item on the list is an $18.8 million elementary school planned in Wiregrass, which is earmarked for the 2014-15 school year.
The district also expects to spend $10.7 million to acquire school sites and $10 million on school buses within the next five years.
One of those sites is on the south side of State Road 54, across from the Ballantrae subdivision, in Land O’ Lakes.
Another elementary and high school are also expected to be needed to serve the Land O’ Lakes and Trinity areas in the future, Williams said.
It typically takes about 12 to 15 months to build an elementary school, about 18 months to build a middle school and about 18 to 24 months to build a high school, Williams said. That’s not counting all of the other work that must be done to get a school ready for construction, including design, site work and so on.
The district’s five-year work plan includes money to build or renovate schools, add classrooms, acquire new sites and complete sizable maintenance projects.
Some other notable projects on the district’s five-year plan include:
• West Zephyrhills Elementary School, a major renovation between 2014 and 2016, at an estimated cost of $8.2 million.
• Cox Elementary School, a $6.8 million makeover including a new cafeteria, removal of concrete portables, replacement of its old windows, parking and traffic improvements, and a new security system, slated for 2016-17.
• Pasco Elementary School, a major makeover in 2017-18, for an estimated $5.9 million.
• Woodland Elementary School, a $4.8 million upgrade to the school’s air-conditioning, heating and ventilation systems, anticipated in 2016-17.
• John Long Middle School, eight additional classrooms at an estimated cost of $4.4 million, expected to begin in 2017-18.
• Pasco High School, new bleachers, a concession stand, public restrooms and lockers, for an estimated $2.6 million in 2015-16.
• San Antonio Elementary School, upgrades in the heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems estimated at $1.25 million, expected in 2014-15.
Dozens of schools in east and central Pasco will also get facility improvement under the district’s five-year plan.
More than $11.2 million in roofing work is scheduled over the next five years, including projects at Land O’ Lakes High School, Moore-Mickens Education Center, Pine View Middle School and West Zephyrhills.
The district has also allocated more than $9 million for technology infrastructure upgrades, including projects at Centennial Elementary and Centennial Middle schools.
District plans also include nearly $7.4 million on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning work, including projects at Pine View, Stewart and Weightman middle schools, and Sunlake, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills high schools.
More than $4.5 million in athletic improvements are also planned across the district, including projects at Centennial, Rushe, John Long, Pasco and Weightman middle schools, and Land O’ Lakes, Sunlake, Wesley Chapel High, Wiregrass Ranch and Zephyrhills high schools.
Cafeteria renovations totaling more than $6.4 million are planned, including work at Chester Taylor, Fox Hollow, Lake Myrtle, Cox, West Zephyrhills and Woodland elementary schools; Pasco, Pine View and Weightman middle schools; and, at Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills high schools.
Dozens of schools in east and central Pasco will be getting safety improvements, parking improvements, electrical upgrades, alarms, telephone and intercom repairs and closed-circuit television projects. A slew of painting projects are planned, too.
The district also plans to do playground renovation projects at about two-dozen schools in east and central Pasco, out of the $1.1 million the district has earmarked for projects in that category.
The district has also allocated $527,080 for energy retrofits, which will include two-dozen schools in east and central Pasco for those projects.
Some projects made it onto the district’s list, but have not yet received funding.
• $4.4 million to add a classroom addition at Wiregrass Ranch High
• $20.6 million to renovate Land O’ Lakes High
• $22.4 million to renovate Zephyrhills High
• $4.1 million to renovate San Antonio Elementary
Some projects on the district’s list are not funded, but sales tax proceeds from Penny for Pasco are expected to cover it, Williams said.
