School district names proposed projects for South Shore schools

By STEPHEN FLANAGAN JACKSON

Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Jeff Eakins probably did not realize it when he assumed the top job in the Hillsborough County public schools administration, but campaigning akin to any run-of-the-mill politician has become a top priority of the professional educator’s job.

Eakins has been criss-crossing the county for several weeks since the Hillsborough County School Board decided to seek a half-penny sales tax increase on the Nov. 6 ballot. If the referendum garners enough Yes votes, it would generate $131 million per year for 10 years for specific, planned projects based on need. The projects would be restricted to air-conditioning systems, security, technology, maintenance, and building and renovations.

And even though the transportation and road improvements advocates beat the school district to the punch with its pitch for a tax increase to serve its needs. Eakins has put together a convincing presentation and rationale for public support and passage of the schools’ referendum.

For the past three years, Eakins and school board members have led the climb out of a financial hole ­— reducing costs, finding new efficiencies and strategically working to get the district’s financial house in order. Hillsborough Schools faces $1 billion in deferred maintenance and another $1 billion needed to handle the growth expected over the next 15 years. A minimum of 32 new schools are needed for the students expected to come to Hillsborough County. Building just one high school, which also serves as a hurricane shelter, costs more than $65 million.

A typical family in Hillsborough County would pay $63 a year for the education referendum based on the Hillsborough County median income; the half-penny sales tax would not be charged on groceries or medicine, and is only charged on the first $5,000 of large purchases.

Eakin’s pitch to the public for support of the referendum can be summed up in one word: Crisis.

Although Eakins’ presentations are laden with details, the former elementary school teacher emphasizes that the school district is in a crisis mode as it grapples with the huge deficit caused by several factors: Lack of state funding, diversion of lottery revenue, deferred maintenance, aging, crowded schools which become older and more populated year by year, a $63 million per year mortgage payment on a decades-old bond, the 2008 recession and the need for 31 new schools in the district. The price tag for all this is staggering and overwhelming. And not even mentioned yet and looming on the horizon is the need to increase the pay of teachers. Thus, the word “crisis” is not bandied about lightly by Eakins, who has “declined a recent pay raise and remained conservative because he understood our (HCSD) financial situation,” according to a district official.

Through Eakins’ leadership, the Hillsborough school administration, since 2015, has eliminated approximately 2,000 jobs, 50 of these cuts include district-level directors. The district has also sharpened its pencil and brought about some additional savings by selling real estate, renegotiating contracts and seeking more efficiency in transportation and energy use. But it is still not enough as Eakins and his team are at wits end. Eakins readily admits that the district is out of options when it comes to increasing revenue for the schools’ maintenance, including the highly publicized air-conditioning fiasco in August, which is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Ironically, despite all these financial challenges, the Hillsborough School District ranks high, statewide and nationally, in exceptional performance by students. Eakins preaches that those high standards can be sustained by passage of the proposed tax of a half-cent for 10 years, which would be earmarked for capital goods including air-conditioning upgrades and school security. He said there is something in the proposed Education Referendum Projects for each of the 250 schools in the district.

According to a report issued by the school district, the proposed projects were selected based on need. The district maintains an ongoing five-year work plan and also tracks needs many years into the future.

Actually, 27 district schools do not require air-conditioning monies, notes the district, because they have already recently received air-conditioning overhauls or the schools themselves are only a few years old. Schools receiving air-conditioning overhauls districtwide are the 203 schools selected based on system age, reliability and related factors. 

Need and available budget prompted the designation of other projects, with the district intending to make a significant investment at each of its 230 schools. Hundreds of need projects that are not on the school-by-school list will still be completed over the next 10 years. The Hillsborough district received about $110 million each year in capital improvement funds from other sources. This money will be used for additional maintenance, allowing for completion of more projects from the district work plan and adding more classroom space to accommodate the upsurge in population in Hillsborough County.

The education referendum projects in the South Shore area:

Apollo Beach Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: K-3 Playground Replacement, Paint and Waterproof, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Outdoor Court Replacement, Repave Parking Lots

Barrington Middle School

Years 1 to 5: Elevator Modernization, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Paint and Waterproof, Replace Fire Alarm System, Replace Public Address System, Replace Stage Lighting, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Repave Athletic Tracks, Repave Parking Lots, Replace Intercom System

Boyette Springs Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Fire Evacuation Improvements, Generator Project, Grade 4-5 Playground Replacement, Outdoor Court Replacement, Pre-K Playground Replacement, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Paint and Waterproof, Repave Parking Lots, Waterproofing

Collins Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Elevator Modernization, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Repave Parking Lots, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Grade 4-5 Playground Replacement, K-3 Playground Replacement, Outdoor Court Replacement, Pre-K Playground Replacement

Corr Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Elevator Modernization, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Replace Fire Alarm System, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure

Years 6 to 10: Grade 4-5 Playground Replacement, K-3 Playground Replacement, Paint and Waterproof

Cypress Creek Elementary

Years 1 to 5: Elevator Modernization, Fire Evacuation Improvements, K-3 Playground Replacement, Outdoor Court Replacement, Paint and Waterproof, Replace Public Address System

Years 6 to 10: Generator Project, Replace Security System

Dawson Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Fire Evacuation Improvements, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure

Years 6 to 10: K-3 Playground Replacement, Paint and Waterproof, Funds Reserved for Future Projects

Doby Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Fire Evacuation Improvements, Paint and Waterproof, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure, K-3 Playground Replacement, Replace Intercom System, Replace Telephone System, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, K-3 Playground Replacement, Outdoor Court Replacement, Pre-K Playground Replacement, Repave Parking Lots

East Bay High School

Years 1 to 5: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Bleachers and Grandstands, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Outdoor Court Replacement, Paint and Waterproof, Replace Aging Roof, Replace Fire Alarm System, Replace Public Address System, Sand and Recondition Gym Floor, Carpeting Replacement Project, Fire Evacuation Improvements

Years 6 to 10: Generator Project, Repave Athletic Tracks

Eisenhower Middle School

Years 1 to 5: ADA Improvements, Maintenance and Repair, Paint and Waterproof, Repave Parking Lots, Replace Intercom System, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure, Window Replacement

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Additional Paint and Waterproof, Sand and Recondition Gym Floor

Gibsonton Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Repave Parking Lots, Replace Fire Alarm System

Years 6 to 10: Replace Aging Roof, Outdoor Court Replacement, Paint and Waterproof

Giunta Middle School

Years 1 to 5: Carpeting Replacement Project, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Sand and Recondition Gym Floor, School Interior Repainting Project

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Outdoor Court Replacement, Repave Athletic Tracks

Lennard High School

Years 1 to 5: Generator Project, Paint and Waterproof, Pre-K Playground Replacement, Repave Athletic Tracks, Replace Intercom System, Replace Public Address System, Replace Stage Lighting, Upgrade Classroom Network Infrastructure

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Elevator Modernization, Outdoor Court Replacement, Sand and Recondition Gym Floor

Progress Village Middle School

Years 1 to 5: Repave Athletic Tracks, Replace Stage Lighting, School Interior Repainting Project Years 6 to 10: Replace Aging Roof, Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Carpeting Replacement Project, Waterproofing

Riverview Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Doors and Frames, Outdoor Court Replacement, Paint and Waterproof, Wheelchair Lift, Window Replacement

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, K-3 Playground Replacement

Riverview High School

Years 1 to 5: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Elevator Modernization, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Generator Project, Maintenance and Repair, Outdoor Court Replacement, Repave Athletic Tracks, Replace Public Address System, Sand and Recondition Gym Floor, Waterproofing

Rodgers Middle School

Years 1 to 5: ADA Improvements, Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Generator Project, Paint and Waterproof, Replace Fire Alarm System

Years 6 to 10: Replace Aging Roof, Elevator Modernization, Outdoor Court Replacement, Repave Athletic Tracks, Sand and Recondition Gym Floor

Ruskin Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Hard-Surface Flooring Replacement Project, K-3 Playground Replacement, Outdoor Court Replacement, Paint and Waterproof, Window Replacement

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul

South County Career Center

Years 1 to 5: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, School Exterior Painting and Waterproofing Project, Wastewater Treatment Repairs, Water Tank

Years 6 to 10: Sidewalks and Canopies

Spoto High School

Years 1 to 5: Carpeting Replacement Project, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Generator Project, Replace Public Address System, Sand and Recondition Gym Floor, Wheelchair Lift

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Elevator Modernization, Hard-Surface Flooring Replacement Project, Outdoor Court Replacement, Pre-K Playground Replacement, Repave Athletic Tracks, Replace Telephone System

Summerfield Crossings Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Fire Evacuation Improvements, Outdoor Court Replacement, Sidewalks and Canopies, Walkway Repair and Sealant

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Elevator Modernization, K-3 Playground Replacement, Paint and Waterproof

Summerfield Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Elevator Modernization, Fire Evacuation Improvements, Grade 4-5 Playground Replacement, Paint and Waterproof, Replace Aging Roof

Years 6 to 10: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, K-3 Playground Replacement, Outdoor Court Replacement, Pre-K Playground Replacement

Symmes Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Air Conditioning Replacement or Overhaul, Elevator Modernization, Fire Evacuation Improvements, K-3 Playground Replacement, Paint and Waterproof

Years 6 to 10: Grade 4-5 Playground Replacement, Outdoor Court Replacement, Repave Parking Lots

Thompson Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: Fire Evacuation Improvements, Paint and Waterproof

Years 6 to 10: Grade 4-5 Playground Replacement, Funds Reserved for Future Projects

Wimauma Elementary School

Years 1 to 5: ADA Improvements, K-3 Playground Replacement, Tuck Pointing (Brick Waterproofing), Window Replacement

Years 6 to 10: Outdoor Court Replacement, Paint and Waterproof