By Amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer
Students at five Plant City-area schools will notice several changes to their campuses when they return to school Aug. 21.
Durant and Strawberry Crest high schools, Marshall and Turkey Creek middle schools and Wilson Elementary School all received upgrades during the summer.
Durant High School students will enjoy working with a new $52,111, 1,500-square-foot shade house for the agricultural program. The house is a walk-in structure used for growing plants that are sensitive to sun.
At Strawberry Crest, student athletes will find new netting on their softball and baseball fields. The need arose because of safety issues. The bleachers for the softball and baseballs field face away from one another, forcing spectators to be facing away from one field.
“There were a couple of balls that came over to the side,” Athletic Director Melvin Williams says. “We wanted to make sure that fans weren’t going to get hit while their backs were turned.”
Other projects include a brand new full color LED sign for Wilson Elementary School and HVAC renovations for Marshall and Turkey Creek middle school.
Furthermore, the Sydney Road water line project, which started this month, will feed reclaimed water to two schools, Tomlin Middle School and Bryan Elementary, spurring construction on both sites that won’t start until next March.
The Hillsborough County Public Schools Facilities Management Department is already planning for the next five year. On July 17, the facilities management department submitted the 2012-2016 tentative work plan to the school board which was then sent out to all the cities in the county and the planning commission for review and recommendations. The cities have 45 days to respond. On Sept. 11, the school board will consider adoption of the revised plan.
Proposed items include resurfacing Durant High School’s track and a complete renovation of Trapnell Elementary’s air-conditioning system. However, in former years schools saw more maintenance and repairs.
“There’s not a whole lot of work going on because we don’t have a lot of money,” Cathy Valdes, chief facilities officer, says.
The budget for maintenance and renovations has been greatly reduced in the past few years, forcing the district to devote most of its resources to needs, Valdes says.
