Schools

Pasco Board Nixes School's Request For Growth

The denial of a student population cap increase could sideline plans for Imagine School at Land O' Lakes to build its own campus.

Since its inception in 2008, parents and administrators at Imagine School at Land O’ Lakes have dreamt of having their own campus, complete with all the facilities that make a school a school.

According to the Pasco County School Board, the charter school’s supporters may have to keep on imagining for some time to come.

The board voted March 1 to deny the school’s request to raise its student enrollment cap from 548 to 650 in the 2011-2012 school year.

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Principal Kathy Helean said the cap increase is required in order for Imagine Schools to be able to fund construction of a new 43,000-square-foot, 38-classroom building on Sunlake Boulevard. The plans, she said, are under county scrutiny and a groundbreaking was planned for April contingent on the approval. The hope was to have a campus opened in October.

“We cannot build our permanent facility unless we can expand (enrollment),” Helean explained to the board. “We would not be able to support the building.”

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Just like school districts, charter schools such as Imagine receive state funding based on the number of students they serve. The current enrollment cap of 548, Helean said, does not enable the school to have the financial resources to pay for construction. Imagine Schools, the company that operates the charter school, has agreed to fund the project if enrollment is at a certain level, Helean said.

School board members said they were concerned that Imagine would have financial difficulties even with the level cap increase. With enrollment currently under the 548-student cap already in place, they questioned the financial stability of the construction plan.

Board member Allen Altman said he is concerned about making sure expansion plans are handled correctly and that finances are in place to support the measure. He and the board, he said, have had to decommission a failing charter school before and he doesn’t want to do it again.

“(I want) financial confirmation that the school’s not going to be in peril,” he said.

Helean and parents present at the meeting said the school needs its own home in order to see expansion of student population. It currently operates out of professional complex at 2530 Green Forest Lane in Lutz. This, they said, sometimes serves as a deterrent for student enrollment.

The board voted unanimously to deny the requested level cap expansion.

Imagine officials, Helean said, will continue to work on construction plans while addressing the board’s concerns.

“We’ll regroup and look at the next plan,” Helean said. “We can move forward to a certain point.”


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