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Anclote Inspires School's Name

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By RONNIE BLAIR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - A high school under construction in Holiday now has a name.

The Pasco County School Board voted Tuesday to name the school Anclote High, citing its proximity to the Anclote River.

The school, being built next to Smith Middle on Sweetbriar Drive, is scheduled to open in August 2009.

The school district solicited suggestions from the community and received dozens of ideas. Among them: Holiday High, Freedom High, James Madison High, Thomas Jefferson High and Nature Coast High.

Although it's not the case with every school, board members often like to choose names that are tied to geography. Many schools in Pasco are named for the communities they are in, the streets they are on or a nearby landmark.

The district also has an Anclote Elementary School.

In other business Tuesday, the board approved a plan to deal with payroll mistakes that caused 43 employees to be paid too much money or too little. Some of the mistakes, discovered in a recent audit, date to the 1980s.

The school district worked out a memorandum of understanding with United School Employees of Pasco that would allow any employee who was underpaid to be reimbursed the full amount. Employees who owe the district money, though, would repay only what they were overpaid for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years.

The agreement wouldn't apply to future instances in which employees learn they have been paid too much or too little.

The total amount overpaid to 17 employees was $120,398. The amount underpaid to 26 employees was $143,866. The district has about 10,000 employees.

In most cases, the mistakes happened because employees were given credit for too much or too little experience when they were hired or moved to a different position.

The board also agreed to lease for a token fee 4 acres it owns across the street from Oakstead Elementary to the Oakstead Community Development District.

Under the lease agreement, the CDD could use the land for a park and, with advance permission from the school board staff, install picnic tables, a picnic shelter, playground equipment, exercise equipment and similar park-related improvements.

The CDD could not put any permanent buildings or structures on the property, though. The school will still have access to the land for overflow parking and for special events. The CDD will pay the school district $1 a year to lease the land.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

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