South End schools full
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Pam Brannon/Gulf Breeze News Santa Rosa County School District Superintendent John Rogers, center, and his administrative staff held a workshop with school board members last week to take a close look at the budget and scheduling for the next school year. Overcrowded schools were a main topic of discussion.

Most of the Santa Rosa County schools bursting at their seams from overcrowding and exceeding capacity are in the south end. That's what Santa Rosa County School Board members learned at their workshop last week.

"Are we over capacity at all the schools? No. Are we at some schools? Yes. We are well beyond full or capacity for what they were originally designed to hold," School Board Member Ed Gray III of Gulf Breeze said. "The class size amendment has changed the whole ballgame to what we consider full."

Gray added that this year, schoolwide averages are considered toward the class size restrictions but next year, in the 2008-2009 school year, it will be limited the the actual number of students per class.

There are 26,000 students in the Santa Rosa County School District.

Of the 33 schools in Santa Rosa County, the school over capacity the most is Holley-Navarre Intermediate, with 712 students as of the middle of September, when figures were gathered. That brings it to 109 percent capacity. Woodlawn Beach Middle School is the second most crowded, at 103 percent capacity with 934 students. Gulf Breeze High is stretching its seams, with 1,576 students, bringing it to 99 percent capacity and Navarre High is at 93 percent capacity with 1,899 students. Pace High has almost as many students as Navarre, with 1,885, but has more room to grow since it is only at 86 percent capacity.

The schools most overcrowded in the north end are Milton High, at 101 percent capacity with 1,912 students and Berryhill Elementary in the north end with 889 students, bringing it to 100 percent capacity.

Gulf Breeze Middle is at 90 percent capacity with 819 students, and Gulf Breeze Elementary is at 83 percent capacity with 727 students. Holley- Navarre Primary has 742 students and is at 93 percent capacity, and Holley-Navarre Middle has 729 students, at 94 percent capacity.

The school with the most elbow room in the county right now is Central High School with 52 percent capacity and only 288 students. Bagdad Elementary is at 59 percent capacity, with 363 students.

Superintendent John Rogers told the school board, "Woodlawn is one of our greatest concerns right now. The problem is, when we bought that property, we did not get enough to expand in any direction. So now we are getting into trouble. We have two portables there right now, sitting on asphalt in the parking lot. So we can continue to add portables, but they will have to go onto pavement and take up more parking area."

Board member Diane Coleman asked if there was a way to transfer some students from Woodlawn to either Gulf Breeze Middle or Holley-Navarre Middle to help with the overcrowding. Administrators said the problem with Holley-Navarre Middle would be to place portables to handle extra students would take up the space needed for construction of new classrooms.

"It is a juggling act right now," Steve Ratliffe told the board.

Superintendent Rogers said, "We are one of the very few districts in the state still growing at a fast pace, and continually every year. But it is a challenge to keep up with the growth."

Gray said, "We've got to start looking at two story facilities. It isn't something we want to do, but it is something we may have to do. Like at Woodlawn. We are running out of options there."

Superintendent Rogers said the problem with two story schools is additional costs, like for stairways and elevators, and support for wind, and such problems.

"It costs a lot of money to build up," Rogers said.

Rogers said he is hoping that Pensacola Junior College will begin work on their joint career campus where they have property adjacent to Woodlawn.

"That career campus will help alleviate some overcrowding at some of our middle and high schools," Rogers said. "We need to go the route of encouraging career campuses. Let's be honest. Most of our students do not graduate from college. They start at colleges, like two year schools, and go the vocational route."

Board member Diane Coleman of Navarre questioned how large the district wanted to go with population in the schools.

"Even with the idea of building up, more than one story, just how large do we really want to go with the high schools especially? We already have a couple schools, like Navarre, at 1,900 students. Are we looking at a school the size of 2,500 students within the next five years or less? Is that a school population we really want to see all under one roof? I think we need to start setting some population guidelines for the board so we know when we need to start building a new school."

Superintendent Rogers said, "There are schools in other parts of Florida with 4,500 to 5,000 students. But we have always said here in Santa Rosa County that we do not want a school that large. I don't think a school that large allows students many opportunities, as far as sports and electives. Not as many students have the opportunity to play on teams, or join clubs, or even become part of certain electives. I don't think we ever want to see that large a population in any of our county's schools."

Board members were told there was $1 million in next year's budget set aside to purchase new portable classrooms. They are investigating where to build a new school or two and where portables are feasible, and if a two story school building will work in some areas of the county since there is so much shifting sand.

Lisa Newell contributed to this

story.