Talk of New $126M HQ Angers Polk Teachers

LAKELAND | Few if any school officials think Polk County can afford a new headquarters to house School District personnel and to consolidate staff and services now scattered across a county the size of Delaware.

But if the money was available, how much would it cost?

That question, posed by a few members of the School Board, has been answered.

The number - a whopping $126 million - has fueled rumors, and plenty of teachers and staff are aghast that district officials could even contemplate such an expensive building project given these austere times.

Members of the School Board are expected to discuss the building estimates at their regularly scheduled work session Tuesday morning. But talk is cheap, and there's no harm in debating the pros and cons of such a massive expense, which someday may make economic sense, some school officials said.

"We tried to come up with an estimate, (but) neither the superintendent (of schools, Gail McKinzie) or I support it," said Bob Williams, assistant superintendent of the School District's facilities and operations department. "Obviously we're always looking down the road to see where we're going."

He said he's received at least one phone call from an outraged teacher, but that he assured her there is no momentum to proceed with a multi-million dollar construction project. "We don't have that kind of money," Williams said.

Even if the district had the funds, "We have many more needs that are more urgent and pressing," McKinzie said. "We're just responding to a request for information. ... There's no recommendation coming from me or Mr. Williams and I don't know if it will elicit any discussion or not (at Tuesday's work session)."

Nevertheless, a preliminary budget estimate was prepared at the request of School Board member Tim Harris, Williams said, with backing from a few other board members whom he declined to name.

Harris, a former teacher and contract administrator for the School District, said he didn't mean to cause a fuss, but the fact is, the current district headquarters isn't adequate for a county the size of Polk.

"Not that we have the money to go spending now, I know we don't," he said. "But if you don't start the conversation, then you'll never be ready when the time comes."

It could be 10 years or more before there's a critical need for a new district headquarters, Harris said, and it wouldn't fit on the present site, which was owned by IMC phosphates when the School Board acquired it in the 1960s.

"We're outgrowing it," he said, and there's very little room for public meetings.

The uproar is over an April 14 e-mail, sent by a member of Williams' staff to McKinzie's office, that has been circulated around the district by personnel who are upset over the mere possibility of such a project.

According to an analysis in the original e-mail, a new district headquarters would require a multi-story, 401,000-square-foot building to house at least 850 employees. It would need a multi-level parking garage for 1,100 vehicles, and the entire project would need a minimum of 20 acres.

The analysis considered enough space to consolidate the current district headquarters in Bartow with 11 other facilities around the county, "not counting offices located in numerous schools."

Several School Board members contacted by The Ledger were unaware that staff were working on the analysis.

Kay Fields said she's gotten messages from angry teachers. "(One) was just chewing me out, saying she couldn't believe I would be supporting something like that in this time of fiscal challenges, and I didn't even know anything about it."

However, Fields said it wouldn't hurt to look at the analysis to see "what we're spending now, and how does that compare" to the cost of consolidating facilities.

Board member Margaret Lofton said she too was caught off guard by the fuss among staff and teachers. "I can't comment on something I know absolutely nothing about," she said.

Board member Frank O'Reilly said he was aware that some of his fellow board members had asked for the analysis, but that he didn't think a larger district office complex was necessary. He said the current facility is adequate, and that being spread over such a large district was a plus for employees and the public.

"It's a lot more accessible to people around the county," O'Reilly said. "I know there's nobody on the board who's going to say 'Let's budget $126 million.' "

[ Eric Pera can be reached at eric.pera@theledger.com or 863-802-7528. ]