School Is Cool: At Least It Will Be This Fall In Hillsborough

TAMPA, FL -- When they head back to school in August, Hillsborough County students won't have to dodge through sweaty crowds or perspire on test papers.

Teams of workers have moved have begun work to overhaul and replace aging air-conditioning systems at 21 Hillsborough County Schools. They will work throughout the summer while students, teachers and staff are on summer break to ensure that students good a cool reception when they arrive back to school this fall.

The air-conditioning overhaul is being funded with the half-penny school improvements tax voters approved last November. In April, a check in the amount of $9 million from January sales tax collections marked the first wave of tax money delivered to the school board. By Jund 10, the school district had $31 million disposited into its accounts.

Walker Middle Magnet School Principal Health Holloway said she can't wait. Her school at N. Mobley Road will receive two air-conditioning upgrades. Foresight Construction brought in 55 workers last week to begin the demotion work in preparation for the new installations.

Other schools getting new or overhauled air-conditioning system include Alonso High School, Benito Middle School, Blake High School, Burnett Middle School, Clark, Colson, Dickenson and Dunbar elementary schools, Durant High School, Folsom, Knights, Lincoln, Lithia Springs and Lowry elementary schools, Riverview High School, Schwarzkopf Elementary School, Sickles High School, Walden Lake Elementary School, Walker Middle School, Wharton High School and Woodbridge Elementary School.

A total of 32 local companies, design professionals and construction companies will be working on the 21 school air conditioning projects this summer.

Over the next 10 years, funds from the half-penny sales tax will overhaul or replace A/C systems at 203 schools. Each summer, the district expects to complete approximately 20 major school air-conditioning projects as the funds are generated by sales across the county.

School district facilities and maintenance teams have been working behind the scenes for the last five months to select companies who will carry out the work and begin initial planning and design for the first phase of projects. The district teams pinpointed 1,785 total projects, focusing on high-priority needs.

On May 17, Hillsborough Schools hosted a Sledgehammer Ceremony – literally breaking the ground of the old play court at Woodbridge Elementary to pave the way for a new court for students.

Woodbridge Elementary School, 8301 Woodbridge Blvd., Town N' Country, will receive two new play courts thanks to the half-penny sales tax referendum.

The sales tax funds are being used to replace 50 playgrounds, tracks and athletic courts.

Additionally, more than $1 million is being invested in school security improvements and the district is replacing aging roofs on 13 schools.

Over the next 10 years, the funds will benefit all 235 existing Hillsborough County public schools.

The Citizen Oversight Committee charged with approving projects funded by the half-penny tax, is continuing to meet throughout the summer. A meeting took place Tuesday morning and the next will be on July 30 at 8 a.m.

The independent Citizen Oversight Committee, led by former State Education Commissioner Betty Castor and Sheriff Chad Chronister, reviews each of the projects and spending before the work is submitted to the school board for final approval.