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When Scottsdale Unified School District administrators presented a facility use plan to the community in March, governing board and community members noticed something missing in the suggestion to close one school and consolidate two others: any mention of closing or changing nonschool buildings.
Now, district officials are starting to discuss bringing more money into the district by changing other facilities. And one building in particular is on several governing board members’ and administrators’ radar: the Education Center, housing most of the district’s administrators.
The district owns four nonschool facilities. In addition to the Education Center, there are two bus yards and a storage facility dubbed the Warehouse.
Two other locations exist on school campuses: the Mohave District Annex, a building at Mohave Middle School housing many of the district’s special-education staff, and a dirt tract near Tavan Elementary School used as a storage area for old furniture.
All four of the nonschool facilities are cheaper to run than the schools, ranging from a little more than $77,000 for a vehicle maintenance facility to $181,000 for the Education Center.
Schools, on the other hand, range from $1.6 million in operating costs for Copper Ridge Elementary School to $7.5 million for Desert Mountain High School. The one school not in that spectrum is Sierra Vista Academy, the district’s alternative school, which costs $762,000 a year.
Even though closing a nonschool facility wouldn’t save as much money as closing a school, board member Molly Holzer said she likes that option because a site could be rented out to bring additional revenue into the district.
Plus, conversations have come up about moving the Education Center, anyway.
At 44th Street south of Indian School, the district office isn’t in a convenient place for many residents of the district, which runs from McKellips Road to Pinnacle Peak Road, Holzer said. And since it’s at the extreme western edge of the district in Phoenix, it’s not even in the city the district is named for.

eastvalleytribune.com

Tags: college, community, scottsdale

Our Bill Says What? First she waited 45 minutes to place her order. Then she waited more than an hour for the food. Then she saw the bill.
The plan calls for new roads, extension of existing roads and road widening in an attempt to deal with current problems and future growth, particularly in western Alachua County.
“We believe that the priorities that staff presented to you make the most efficient use of our transportation system, provide an interconnected road network and are ones that we can provide,” said Jonathan Paul, county transportation planning manager. “In order for transit to be realistic, it has to be on dedicated transit lanes. We are looking at development of a network. Significant parts could be constructed with some of the major developments - the Butler Plazas, the Springhills, the Newberry Villages.”
The meeting was the first step toward a plan to address road needs through 2020. Money would come from a variety of sources including the county, state, and developers through impact fees and proportionate share - a mechanism for developers to pay part of the cost of road improvements.
Most of the targeted roads are in western Alachua County and are at or near capacity under state standards for concurrency - the requirement that roads be able to handle traffic from new development as it comes on line.
Roads with segments that are already over capacity include SW 20th Avenue and Newberry Road. Roads with segments that are nearing capacity include Williston Road, NW 39th Avenue and 83rd Street.
About 10 different segments of roads are recommended for widening or extensions under the plan.
Included are extending SW 8th Avenue past Parker Road, widening NW 83rd Street between NW 23rd and 39th avenues, widening NW 23rd Avenue between 55th and 98th streets, widening Archer Road between SW 75th and 91st streets, and widening Williston Road from SW 62nd Avenue to Interstate 75.
Meanwhile, the system of dedicated bus lanes would stretch from the Butler Plaza area of Archer Road north to the vicinity of The Oaks Mall and North Florida Regional Medical Center. It would then continue north to Santa Fe Community College and the I-75/NW 39th Avenue area. That area is expected to be more heavily developed in the future.
Feeder routes with a dedicated bus lane would extend to Jonesville along Newberry Road and to Tower Road on Archer Road.
Planners said new or widened roads would be needed and believe that development could pay much of the cost.
“We are looking at a route that would primarily connect those major attractions. You have a facility that connects where people want to go,” Paul said. “The approach that staff has been looking at is to have some of these major developers start the development of this corridor.”
Commissioner Mike Byerly had some reservations. He questioned whether, if the dedicated lane was built, there are any guarantees it would be used for buses or alternative transportation.
“Once we build them, all it takes is a single majority vote from the County Commission to convert them to regular travel lanes,” Byerly said. “As such, I’m just kind of thinking how the public is going to respond to the idea of a dedicated transit lane alongside a congested roadway when nothing is using it, and how politically viable that is.”
Commissioner Lee Pinkoson added that alternative forms of energy may enable people to continue driving their cars rather than switch to buses as gas costs rise. But Paul said he believes bus travel will increase as density increases and that the lanes would be used frequently by buses.
Assistant County Manager Rick Drummond said the initial plan outlined Tuesday is just the start of the process.
“This is the beginning of a long-range discussion and it is a long time coming in even having this discussion. As we move forward and use this as part of the piece to discuss what kind of community we truly want to have, we can up the discussion level even more,” Drummond said. “This discussion isn’t really just about transportation. It’s about the community also, and how the community will continue to develop in a manner that we have expressed how we want it to develop.”
Commissioners on Tuesday gave Paul approval to present the plan to various groups including builders, environmentalists, chambers of commerce and communities.
Modifications may be made depending on public comment. It will then be brought back to the commission.
Cindy Swirko can be reached at 352-374-5024 or swirkoc@ gvillesun.com.

gainesville.com

Tags: college, community, fe, santa