Hernando County moves ahead with two large school additions; construction, traffic fixes and bus rules discussed

The Hernando County School District on Tuesday reported construction is under way for two major campus additions meant to ease enrollment pressure and add hurricane shelter capacity.

District staff said the Winding Waters K–8/Weeki Wachee High flex building will add 30 classrooms (13 ground-floor rooms for middle grades, 17 second-floor rooms intended for high school use), about 43,600 square feet of space and roughly 660–750 student stations depending on grade assignment. The project was built as a precast concrete shell to shorten on-site work and avoid closing a bus loop; the district reported a guaranteed maximum price of $21,000,021.60 and a substantial completion date of May 31, 2026.

The Eastside Elementary project will add a two‑story classroom building (10 classrooms per floor), a new hardened cafeteria designed as a hurricane shelter, new bus stacking, additional parking and drainage improvements. District staff said the classroom building is roughly 26,800 square feet and the cafeteria 13,500 square feet; the combined guaranteed maximum price including furnishings and kitchen equipment is approximately $27,000,000, with about $1,400,000 attributed to hurricane‑hardening costs. The cafeteria substantial completion date was listed as June 1, 2026; classrooms July 1, 2026.

Brian Reagan, a district staff member presenting the projects, told the boards the Eastside scope also includes remodeling the old cafeteria into office space, converting those offices into four primary classrooms plus an ESE suite (about 72 additional student stations), and planned roofing and HVAC replacements. Reagan said the district is still negotiating a guaranteed maximum price for the Building 4/6 remodel and expects construction to start in mid‑2026 with completion in 2027.

Why it matters

The two projects address immediate building-level capacity and add an Eastside shelter for the east side of the county. Commissioners focused questions on cost, construction choices and traffic impacts; school staff emphasized timelines that aim to open the projects for the 2026–27 school year.

Key details and staff responses

- Construction methods and cost tradeoffs: Reagan said the precast approach at Winding Waters cost roughly $200,000 more than conventional methods but saved time, avoided closing the bus loop and reduced on-site general‑condition costs. "It saved us on overhead," Reagan said. - Units and furnishing: District staff confirmed the guaranteed maximum prices include furniture/turnkey classroom fit‑out. - JD Floyd and stacking: Commissioners raised a persistent parent-dropoff problem on Emerson/near JD Floyd Elementary. Reagan said the district has a master plan that would move stacking onto district property; an earlier bus-loop project at Winding Waters cost about $2 million and a similar fix at JD Floyd could be comparable. Some site work differences drove Eastside's higher per‑square‑foot cost (redesigned stormwater, lift station upgrades and fire loop installation). - Bus policy and sidewalks: Board members and commissioners pressed the district about courtesy‑busing policy (which currently excludes students within two miles). Superintendent Ray Pinder and Board Chair Shannon Rodriguez described a long‑standing legislative request to reduce the exclusion zone to 1–1.5 miles for younger students, improve sidewalks around schools, and seek state help for bus funding. Commissioner Mark Johnson noted the state handles that policy and said legislative change would be required.

Discussion vs. action

This was a workshop update; no formal actions were taken. Commissioners and school officials directed staff to continue coordination on traffic mitigation (bus loops and parent stacking), share master plans for campus traffic fixes (including Spring Hill and JD Floyd), and pursue funding and legislative channels for changes to courtesy‑busing policies.

Quotations

"The precast was a little bit more — about $200,000 — but the efficiency gained was avoiding closure of the bus loop and shortening the on‑site schedule," Reagan said.

Commissioner John Allocco asked whether site work explained the price differences between campuses; Reagan pointed to Eastside's lift station and fire‑loop upgrades and new drainage work.

Ending

District officials said the additions should relieve near‑term classroom shortages and provide a new hardened shelter for Eastside. Staff and commissioners agreed to continue coordination on traffic, sidewalks and legislative outreach on courtesy busing while the projects move through construction.