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Hernando Today

New School's Design Unveiled At Workshop

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By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: September 17, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Despite enrollment counts being down this fall in Hernando County schools, the district's two newest schools are still on track - and they're more "green" than ever.

At an afternoon workshop Tuesday, Hernando County School Board members got a sneak peek at the district's two newest schools: High School "EEE" and Elementary "K," or the new K-8 combination school. Both are slated to open in fall 2010 and will be built on more than 70 acres of land off U.S. 19 between Centralia Road and Weeki Wachee North Mobile Home Community.

With construction costs estimated at $55 million, the new, 2,000-student high school was the primary focus of the workshop.

Board members expressed particular interest in facilities director Roland Bavota's plans to keep the project "green," or an environmentally friendly and low-maintenance school with operational costs kept as efficient as possible.

The school is set to house a cutting-edge thermal energy storage unit that will make ice at night, then cool the building in the morning when students come in. Its environmental design will save the district $63,000 in energy costs each year and pay for itself within five years, Bavota said.

The building's water supply will be heated through a solar "active water loop" hot water heating system, meaning that gym class showers and faucet water will rely on the sun for heat.

Through an initiative known as Leadership Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, the school will also have a light censor system installed in all of its classrooms that will automatically adjust to accommodate natural light being let in through windows.

"If it's a bright day, the lights may not come on at all," Bavota said. "If it's a gloomy day, they'll be a little bit brighter."

Board members agreed that they would like to see the new technology placed in an open, centralized location at the school - in an effort to allow students to easily learn from it - and Superintendent Wayne Alexander suggested placing the district's future engineering career academy at the new school.

"We want this to be somewhere where students can actually learn from what's going on," board member John Sweeney said.

However, funds are not unlimited. While the board had the option of approving a third floor to the project, they opted to stick with its original design of a one-story building with a second-floor shell.

The motion will go before the board for an official vote at an upcoming regular school board meeting.

The new K-8 school, to be located on the northern portion of the property, is also in its early planning stages. It is estimated to cost $27.7 million and will have space for 1,400 students.

Both schools are meant to alleviate overcrowding at the district's other schools, with construction being paid for through a 10-year, half cent sales surtax, approved by Hernando County voters in March 2004.

With a tax levy that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2005, officials have collected $26.8 million as of May 2008. It will expire on Dec. 31, 2014.

The funding is used to pay the principal and interest on $45 million in sales tax revenue bonds issued in October 2006, and the proceeds are now being used to construct the new high school, plus any 10-year sales tax revenue collections not needed for payment of principal and interest on the bonds.

However, the money for the new K-8 school will come from $106 million in certificates of participation that were issued when the district sold bonds in January 2006.

Despite a low growth rate countywide, the district's high schools particularly need relief, Bavota said.

During the 2007-08 school year, while Hernando High was operating at 84 percent capacity, Springstead was operating at 114 percent. Since Central recently built on a new addition, its overcrowding was alleviated to 86 percent capacity.

However, with a projected 1 percent growth rate, Hernando High is estimated to be at 87 percent capacity, with 1,531 students. Springstead is estimated at 101 percent capacity, with 2,128 students, and Central is estimated at 90 percent, with 2,047 students.

The district has hired Schenkel Shultz Architecture as the architect for the high school, Harvard Jolly Architecture as the architect for the K-8 school and Skanska as the construction management firm for both.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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