Florida School Bd. Capital Project Still in Phase One

By Elise Fisch

  The Florida Union Free School District Board of Education held its regular meeting on Thurs., Jan. 21 at S.S. Seward Institute to discuss updates on student enrollment and the District’s ongoing Capital Project.

At the start of the third instructional period, which began mid-January, when students were given the option to switch, more families chose to move their child from attending in-person lessons in the school building to remote instruction. 

Both schools, S.S. Seward Institute and Golden Hill Elementary, have about 75 percent of their total student body inside the school buildings for in-person instruction. Having had more students choose the remote style this time around, the schools can continue to operate as they have been, still able to accommodate every student who wants to be attending school in-person.

The Board of Education has decided to utilize the fourth instructional period that they have available to them in the calendar. At the start of this next period, students will again have the option of choosing to switch what style of learning they’re enrolled in.

The District’s Capital Project, approved back in February of 2019, includes several structural updates to the school grounds which are being managed and carried out by companies BBS Architects and Triton Construction in direct compliance with decisions made by the School Board. 

The project is currently in its first of two phases, falling slightly behind schedule, but Triton and BBS feel that the time will be made up in early preparations for phase two. 

One of the improvements scheduled for completion in phase one is that of the new athletic fields. The Board has been debating between seeding or installing sod on the new fields, a question that gets more complicated as the winter season progresses and frost becomes more likely. There has been a leniency toward seed on the part of the Board members because of its long-term durability over sod. Sod, however, will be both less expensive and ready to use up to a full year sooner than the fields would be if they were seeded instead.

Members of the Board were shocked and disappointed when a representative from BBS Architects informed them that a deposit had already been made through Turco with the sod company. The District entered a contract with the turf company at the beginning of November, contingent upon the sod being installed in early December. After a frost in early December prevented the sod from being installed, the Board members anticipated being able to revisit the sod or seed decision with BBS and Triton.

“I am extremely upset,” said President of the Board, John Redman, to the representatives of both companies. “After a successful 15-year relationship, I am very disappointed in the way things have been handled.” 

BBS and Triton apologized for the miscommunication and promised to look into the contract to find out if a refund is possible. If so, the Board will likely begin to develop a plan to seed the new fields, making them usable around the spring of 2022. If a refund is not possible, the sod will be installed as soon as weather permits, and the fields may be ready to use in the early fall of 2021. 

There is the potential for a special meeting to be held in the next two weeks if the Board needs to take action with BBS and Triton before their next scheduled meeting.

Next Meeting 

The next School Board meeting will be held on Thurs., Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of S.S. Seward Institute, located at 51 N. Main St. in Florida.