Approve the Plan to Repurpose Dickenson Elementary School and Boundary Adjustments (Updated April 13, 2006)

In order to better utilize district resources and fulfill recommendations from the district’s Joint Task Force for School Capacity, Funding, and the Planning for Growth, district staff has proposed Dickenson Elementary School be repurposed to accommodate needed instructional programs effective the 2006-2007 school year. Programs recommended for placement at Dickenson Elementary School are the Success Academy, Foreign Student Language Immersion Program, evening adult ESOL programs, evening adult technical programs, evening fee based community education programs, and community services.

Proposed attendance boundary changes and re-assignment of all elementary students in the Northwest area of Hillsborough County, including Dickenson Elementary School students, are recommended to be effective the upcoming 2006-2007 school year. Pending available capacity, middle school and high school feeder patterns would change for re-assigned students. Middle and high school feeder patterns would not take effect until the 2007-2008 school year. During community meetings, parents are encouraged to place students into the new feeder patterns for the upcoming 2006-2007 school year.

There will be a savings of $19,264,891 from the capital outlay budget, (two mill levy and COPS proceeds). The savings is comprised of $8,609,555 for classroom additions of 42 classrooms that will not have to be constructed due to the transfers of students from more crowded to less crowded campuses. In some cases schools that are losing students do not have sufficient space on the campus to build additional classrooms and those schools would have had difficulty meeting the class size requirements in the Florida Constitution.

There will be a net savings of $334,484 per year in the operating budget. The savings will be realized from a reduction of overhead and salaries of $360,434. There will be a savings of $18,000 per year in utility costs realized from the closing of the temporary campus used for the present success academy. There will be an increase in transportation costs of $43,950 to put the plan in effect. The net savings to the operating budget is therefore $334,484 per year.

Comparison of 40th day enrollment data, 2006-2007. September 26, 2006.