The portable project could force the district to delay or scale back long-awaited renovations scheduled for Pasco and Gulf middle schools. There's no additional money out there. The state Department of Community Affairs is overseeing the new requirement, and it will certify whether every portable in the state has been inspected and upgraded. Rushe and other administrators said the new requirements were passed by the Legislature last spring but that the Department of Community Affairs is only now notifying districts how it will enforce the rules. Schools must have their portables inspected and improved by the end of March.
Administrators say they'll be hard pressed to meet the deadline.
Rushe said the money for the upgrades might force the district to scale back planned renovations of Gulf and Pasco middle schools, two of the oldest, most bedraggled schools in the county. The two schools have been scheduled for renovations for years, but they continually take a back seat to other construction projects. A scaled-back version of the renovations was put before the board last spring and is scheduled to get under way this summer. Those projects may now be in jeopardy if the cost of fixing the portables runs into the millions of dollars, Rushe said. Districts have to check their portable classrooms for a number of things.