INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River County School Board Tuesday night approved a contract with Barth Construction to construct a new parent pick-up/drop-off loop at the new Osceola Magnet campus and to begin negotiations with Pirtle and Pinnacle construction companies for the expansion of Fellsmere Elementary School.
“We’ve got to get everything ready to open school in August,” said Schools Superintendent Dr. Fran Adams of approving the contract for the Osceola Magnet loop at the former Thompson Lifelong Learning Center campus.
The contract also consists of outside lighting improvements for the school and has a total budget of nearly $342,000.
Alice Weber, a member of the transition committee put together to assist in the relocation of Osceola Magnet to Thompson, raised concerns about the lack of parking at the school site, a concern Osceola Magnet teacher Diane Parentela also raised.
Weber said she did not want to see the School Board approve the loop and let the parking issue slip under the radar.
Parentela told the School Board that one of her concerns about making the move to Thompson was that “we didn’t fit there.” She noted that there is enough classroom space – but asked about the space needed for everything else that makes Osceola what it is – the parent volunteers.
“They need parking,” she said.
Dr. Adams agreed that there is not yet adequate parking for the school but the district is looking at options for addressing the shortage.
“Osceola, we hear you,” said School Board member Karen Disney-Brombach. She told the audience that the board has directed the superintendent to maximize the space on the campus to allow for adequate parking.
“We don’t ever want to do anything to keep you out of the school,” she said.
With the approval of Barth Construction’s contract for the loop and lighting, the company can proceed to design the project and apply for the necessary permits, all of which needs to be completed prior to school letting out for the summer so ground can be broken right away and construction be complete by August.
The School Board also approved moving forward with negotiations with both Pirtle Construction and Pinnacle Construction for the renovation and expansion of Fellsmere Elementary School.
The project will consist of renovating the campus, expanding the cafeteria and adding more classrooms.
The School District has set aside $8.9 million for the Fellsmere Elementary School project, which is fully funded through the district’s 5-year Capital Outlay Budget.
Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Carter Morrison told the School Board that there are impact fees that have been allocated to the project and need to be used before they expire, therefore the project needs to move forward.
Disney-Brombach, a Fellsmere resident, said that she was excited to see that the portables at Fellsmere Elementary will be removed as a result of the expansion. She also thanked the City of Fellsmere for its assistance in helping the landlocked school to expand.