“Site plan for new elementary school is changed again”

Site plan for new elementary school is changed again

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 05:46 PM PST

Published: Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 8:37 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 8:37 p.m.

The site plan for new elementary school proposed for Northwest 39th Avenue has undergone another revision after residents of neighboring Wellington Place complained about bus and pedestrian traffic, school officials said.

More Information

How they voted

Energy management specialist job description: This was a first reading. It will be brought back to the board for final approval. Unanimously in favor

New security measures

As of the Feb. 1 meeting, anyone entering the Alachua County School Board meeting will have their bags checked and face a security wand. The move is partly in response to the Dec. 15 shooting at a Panama City school board meeting.

Ed Gable, facilities director for Alachua County Public School, told the School Board during its Tuesday meeting that he hopes to submit a new plan to the county by the end of the month.

The revisions include removing one of two pedestrian walkways on Northwest 112th Street, the sole entrance and exit for the subdivision. Residents complained that the walkways would attract parents seeking an easy drop-off point.

The new plan also adds another entrance and exit on Northwest 39th Avenue to the west and a gate for the bus loop that could only be opened by school bus drivers, Gable said.

"We've got a lot of work to do, but we'd like to get to construction in early spring," he said.

Gable said he hopes that in the near future the entrance near Northwest 115th Terrace would get a traffic signal.

School Board chair Barbara Sharpe said the school district and its engineers are caught in the middle between county requirements and residential concerns.

"I'm not sure at the end of this that everyone will be happy with this, but I do know that we do have to build a school," she said.

The new elementary school, which will open in 2012, will help reduce overcrowding at several other schools.

The district met with residents twice to discuss the plans.

"I sure hope the residents appreciate the trouble you went through to accommodate their wishes," said School Board member Eileen Roy.

The board also had its first discussion on a proposed energy management specialist position and its job requirements.

Wendell Porter, an assistant research specialist at the University of Florida, said he felt the job description needed strengthening.

Anyone with an associate's degree and three years of experience would be eligible for the job, which would pay about $45,000 to $69,000. Porter said the school district should require a bachelor's degree and certification in energy management.

Many board members agreed.

School Board member Carol Oyenarte expressed some concern about the job description.

"I qualify for this job just from my training," she said. "I think the job description needs to be expanded."

She also said she was worried about having "a fox in the henhouse" with a company that would both diagnose the school district's problems and then implement its own plan.

"We need to save energy, but I want it done at a level up here," she said.

The school district underwent a energy conservation study by outside consultants in 2007.

The primary duties of the specialist would be to plan, coordinate and monitor a districtwide sustainability program, advise the district on energy-efficient ways for capital projects and maintain and communicate consumption data to principals and district officials.

Contact Jackie Alexander at jackie.alexander@gvillesun.com or 338-3166.

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Job Description

Tuesday, February 1, 2011