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Suncoast Pasco News

County Spars With Schools Over Road Upgrades

Carl Orth/SUNCOAST NEWS

1.) School Superintendent Heather Fiorentino says Deer Park Elementary School is a traffic jam creator, among other schools.

2.) “Who will blink first?” asks Commissioner Ann Hildebrand.

3.) An agreement is needed by Dec. 11, says County Administrator John Gallagher.

4.) Ray Gadd, an assistant school superintendent, reflects the mood of Tuesday morning’s Pasco County-School District meeting.

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: November 20, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Pasco County and School District officials kept getting detoured today about who will pay for road improvements near new schools and how much.

The leaders met for two hours this morning, only to decide to meet yet again, Dec. 11, to try to settle the issue once and for all.

The special meeting this morning took on the tone of a boxing match as both sides sparred. Tempers flared a few times until leaders injected some humor to defuse the impasse.

"Who's going to blink first," Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand asked rhetorically at the start of the meeting.

"Sins of the past" have led to traffic jams on major roads near schools such as Deer Park Elementary School, said School Superintendent Heather Fiorentino. Deer Park is near the busy intersection of Trouble Creek and Little roads.

A more recent example is Longleaf Elementary School, School Board member Kathryn Starkey said. Traffic from the school has at times backed up onto S.R. 54.

Traffic problems primarily last for about 20 minutes in the afternoon when the school day ends because of the phenomenon of more and more parents picking up their children at schools.

"I'm picking up the lion's share" of costs, County Administrator John Gallagher said about road improvements for new schools.

In response, Ray Gadd, assistant schools superintendent for support services, cited Trinity Oaks Elementary School as an example in which the School District made many traffic modifications.

The bill for school-related improvements can quickly add up to $4 million to $6 million, Gallagher said.

The compromise taking shape now is to draw a zone of about 1,320 feet around the boundaries of any new school.

The School District primarily would take on many road expenses within that quarter-mile zone, while the county would deal with improvements outside the zone. Gadd, however, wants a "dispute resolution committee" to settle disputes arising out of special circumstances.

Read more on the debate over school-related road improvements in the Nov. 24 issue of The Suncoast News.

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