School districts delay some new construction, concentrate on renovations - Orlando Business Journal:

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When the local residential real estate boom went an anticipated surge in new students never materialized. In fact, many school districts now find thei studentpopulations shrinking. In addition, the slow housint market means there will be less monegy than expected from home impact fees to fund newschooo construction. As a result, local school district s adjustedtheir five-year construction programs, halting work on plannedc new school projects that appeart not to be needed at this time. For , that meant shrinkinbg its 2007-2008 construction budget from $885.3 million in Septembere 2007 to $414.4 million in February 2008 -- a 53 percengt reduction.
Seminole County's construction spending will drop sharplyfrom $68.7 million in 2007-2008 to just $26.77 million in 2008-2009, a 61 percenft reduction. Osceola County will reduce its constructionh spending by26 percent, from $97. million in 2007-2008 to $72.5 million the following And that's another blow to area construction firms lookintfor work. "The construction sector doesn't have those projects to rely on," says Mark president and CEO of Associatee Builders andContractors Inc.'s Central Florida chapter. However, school officials say there still will be plenty of constructionm work togo around.
Ronaldc Blocker, superintendent of Orange County Public says the district has been trackinv itsstudent enrollment, and adjusted its construction plans accordingly. "Thie can be a breather for us -- we were playingg catch-up," says Blocker, who believeas the slowdown will allow the district to focuson much-needer renovations. In fact, the school districft has more than 100 renovation projects it wantds to do in the next five saysBob Proie, chief facilities officer for Orangre County Public Schools. However, the number that actually will get done is subjecgto change.
In addition, Orange County is still building new schoolsw to comply with theFlorida class-sizw reduction amendment passed in he says. Seminole County also is usinbg this time to revampoldee schools, says Bill Vogel, superintendent of . In Volusiaa County, the need to comply with the class-sized mandate will provide local construction companies with saysNancy Wait, spokeswoman. However, due to a declinwe in student enrollment, four small Volusia schools are scheduled to closd because each holds just100 students. In the end, constructiohn companies should be all right through the next saysBob Nanni, chief of school operations for the School District of Osceola County.
Current construction projectx already have funding secured from the priot year of design and so those should be safefrom cutbacks, he C.T. Hsu, president of Orlando architecturefirm C.T. Hsu Associates P.A., has been following what the schookl districts are doing to stimulate the For example, Orange County plans to take $12 million from the 2009 budge t to plan 15 projects this That is expected to help boosrt local companies during the current tough economicf times, as well as get schoolo projects done sooner. "I was impresse with our local school says Hsu.
"Orange County Public Schoola made a conscientious decision to accelerate comprehensivdrenovation projects, and I've been noticing Lake County and Osceol County all accelerating their plannesd school projects [as well]," says Hsu. "Those schools will be quitde a relief toconstruction