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Boards meet for sake of schools
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
© St. Petersburg Times, INVERNESS -- They talked about fields and bubbles, toilet paper and ice sculptures. And along the way, the Citrus County School Board and the County Commission discovered ways Thursday that they could work together to save money and provide more efficient services. "I think over the next few years, with the growth we're going to have, I think we're going to be meeting and talking a lot more," Commissioner Gary Bartell said. The joint session Thursday -- the second sit-down between the two boards -- was held at the Withlacoochee Technical Institute, where students in the culinary arts program served an elegant lunch before business got under way. The fare included spinach salad, watermelon sorbet, pecan-encrusted salmon, filet mignon, wild rice pilaf, and the "New World Strawberry Napoleon," a creme brulee-type creation. The students decorated the dining room with flowers, carved pumpkins and three ice sculptures hewn from 400-pound blocks of ice. For the record: No public official got a free lunch. Each school board member paid $11.95 for lunch plus $11.95 for one of the commissioner's lunches. Everyone else paid their own way. "If it takes a good meal to get you here once a year, I'm willing to pay for it," School Board member Carol Snyder said with a grin. With sated appetites and full bellies, the board members moved on to the business at hand: CONTINUING THE OPEN GYM PROGRAM: Commissioners and School Board members alike praised last summer's open gym program, which drew an average weekly attendance of 441 students over the eight-week period. The school opened three gyms and the county provided parks officials, supported with some school dollars, to supervise the teens. "It's a program that, with board support, we'd like to see continue next summer," said School Board member Sandra "Sam" Himmel. POWER BUYING: Crystal River resident Sumner Waite suggested that the county piggyback onto the school system's bulk purchases of toilet paper and other janitorial supplies. The school system has already found the lowest bidder, he said, while the county has not yet gone out to competitive bid on those supplies. County officials agreed to look into it. BRANCHING OUT: The boards decided to initiate talks with Central Florida Community College and the cities of Crystal River and Inverness to see if they might combine efforts to build and maintain facilities. County Administrator Richard Wesch pointed to the need for a swimming pool in the central part of the county, where the greatest growth is occurring. School Board attorney Richard "Spike" Fitzpatrick noted that in Hernando County, the school system contracts with the county to maintain all of its athletic fields. He said a similar arrangement might be worth exploring in Citrus County. SCHOOL SIGNS: Commissioners agreed to put up directional signs along county roads identifying the public schools. But for schools that abut state-maintained roads, such as State Road 44 or U.S. 19, sign requests must go to the state Department of Transportation. "I'm really embarrassed," School Board member Pat Deutschman said. "In Citrus County, I've gotten lost a couple times looking for the schools." PROPERTY As the School Board searches for a new site for the Renaissance Center and a future high school, members asked commissioners to offer any county-owned property that may be appropriate. The state says Citrus County does not need a new high school yet, but School Board members said the three high schools are bursting at the seams -- particularly with the so-called "bubble" of larger classes working their way through the system. SHARING FACILITIES: Officials agreed to consolidate the paperwork and select one point person to handle all county inquiries into using school athletic fields and buildings. As it is now, each school has its own contact person, forms and waivers, creating a cumbersome system for county staffers, Wesch said. The school system will also send a calendar to the county Parks and Recreation Division every month showing which school facilities are available for use on which days, Himmel said. If a group needs a field on a given day, parks officials can find an open field on the calendar without calling around to all of the schools, she said.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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