Who decides where to build a new school?
First, a district must have permission from the Florida Department of Education to build a new school. The Superintendent of Schools then recommends a site to the local School Board, which must ultimately approve any proposed school site.  In Alachua County, a School Planning Advisory Committee (SPAC) provides input to the district on a school site before the Superintendent takes a recommendation to the School Board.

What’s the School Planning Advisory Committee?
It’s a group made up of representatives from the school district, from the county and city governments in the area and citizens those groups have selected to represent them. Currently the SPAC is reviewing potential sites for a new elementary school that the state has given Alachua County Public Schools permission to build. That school will house about 770 students.

The SPAC has also been tasked with providing recommendations to the Superintendent on any major facilities projects that would involve changing the capacity of an existing school.

How are SPAC members chosen?
First the Superintendent notifies the municipalities of the need to establish a SPAC. Each municipality then decides how it will select its representatives to the SPAC.

What factors are considered when deciding on a site for a new school?
There are many factors that go into the decision about where to build a new school. Some of those factors include:

• Proximity to current and future student population
• Ability of students to walk to site
• Size of property
• County and city requirements
• Flood zones
• Access to water, sewer, etc.
• Vehicle and pedestrian connectivity
• Ownership/current use of property
• Cost of property
• Environmental issues
• Development trends

As part of its work, the SPAC will be considering which of these factors are most important and reviewing other site data before making a recommendation to the Superintendent.

Can you tear down an old school and build a new one in its place?
In addition to getting permission from the state to build new schools, districts also have to get permission to tear down existing schools or individual buildings. The state uses what’s called a ‘Castaldi Formula’ to determine whether or not it will allow a district to tear down an existing building.

That formula is very complex and is based on a lot of factors. Those factors include the age and condition of the building, how much has been spent on that building in the past, how much it would cost to tear it down vs. renovate it, the alternatives to tearing it down, the possible consequences if tearing down a building is not approved and other things. If the razing of a building doesn’t meet the state’s standards, it will not be approved.

During the 2018 session of the Florida Legislature, lawmakers passed a new education law called House Bill 7055 that would give districts more flexibility in how they spend facilities funds raised through a local sales tax approved by county voters. However, even if that law is signed by the Governor, the current state rules about tearing down existing buildings would still be in effect.

What about adding classrooms or other spaces to an existing school?
House Bill 7055 would give districts more flexibility to add capacity to existing schools, but only if they use money from the local sales tax. The state must still approve any projects funded through local property taxes or the statewide sales tax.

What’s the timeline for Alachua County Public Schools to build a new school?
The SPAC will be meeting weekly until it’s prepared to make a recommendation on an elementary school site to the Superintendent. That will likely happen at the end of May or in June of 2018.  Soon afterward the Superintendent would be making a recommendation to the School Board for approval. The goal is to have a new school open by August of 2020.  After making its recommendation on a school site, the SPAC will then begin reviewing plans for future projects that would either add to or reduce the capacity of its existing schools. That work is expected to continue through July of 2018.  The district hopes to have a comprehensive list of projects proposed for each of the district’s schools and the estimated costs of those projects by August of 2018.

Does the district have the funding to do all these projects?
Not with current sources of funding, which are primarily state sales taxes allocated by the Florida Legislature and local property taxes, which are capped by the Legislature. Funding from both sources is down about $168 million in the last ten years.

That’s why Alachua County Public Schools will be asking local voters to approve a half-cent sales tax in November of 2018. The revenues from that sales tax would be used to renovate, remodel and repair existing schools, add more classroom and core (cafeterias, media centers, etc.) spaces, enhance safety and security, improve technology infrastructure and in other ways improve the learning environment for all students for decades.

More information about the district’s overall facilities needs, the current funding situation and the ½ sales tax initiative are available here.