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County's Growth Plan For Schools On Agenda

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By JULIA FERRANTE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 17, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - The county commission and school board will try one more time Tuesday to resolve differences on school concurrency.

County Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand, School Board Chairwoman Marge Whaley, and their top administrators and attorneys are slated to hash out about a dozen outstanding issues at a special meeting 10 a.m. at the West Pasco Government Center.

"I'm hoping for a positive outcome," Hildebrand said Friday. "We need to resolve the issues and move forward because, obviously, we have to get concurrency done."

County and school officials have been at odds for months on a plan to ensure Pasco County has enough school capacity for homes planned or under construction. Chief among their disputes: Who should pay for improvements on roads leading to and from new schools?

In a series of joint workshops, school officials have said they should have to pay for improvements only on school property. County officials have said the district also should pay for improvements on roads that are likely to become more congested with the opening of a school.

The two boards must have their concurrency plan approved by the state Department of Community Affairs by Feb. 1. Officials submitted a rough plan last week, but they still must work out the details of how roads, sidewalks and other infrastructure will be improved and maintained.

Hildebrand said she is optimistic that the groups can reach a compromise.

"This is going to be a small group," she said. "Before, we were 35 people in a room, and we really weren't getting off the dime."
County Attorney Robert Sumner said he also thinks the parties can work out their differences.

"If all sides have a good understanding of what each side's concerns are, then I think we can work through it," Sumner said.

One possibility, Sumner said, would be if the school district agreed to pay for road improvements within a small radius around new schools and the county picked up the rest of the cost of improvements on roads that already are substandard.

"The issue is not so much cost as principle," he said. "They ain't gonna pay for nothing off site. Maybe if they did a little off site. If they don't, we'll probably punt and say we'll resolve it on a site-by-site basis, which is what we do now."

The state could impose sanctions on the school district and county if they don't reach an agreement. Punishment could include prohibiting any more amendments to the comprehensive growth plan or withholding school construction money.

A consultant for the county and school district, Jeanne Mills, has said other Florida counties have had difficulty resolving transportation issues and have sent plans to the Department of Community Affairs without specifics.

Whaley referred questions to Assistant Superintendent Ray Gadd, who could not be reached for comment Friday.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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