By this time next year, Lakeland School System officials hope to be working out of new administrative space.
With its new $40 million Lakeland Preparatory high school wing scheduled to open later this year, the district plans to relocate offices from City Hall to a house off Old Brownsville Road adjacent to Lakeland Prep that it acquired last year.
“It’s been on our radar constantly that we need to come up with a plan to get our personnel out of City Hall so that they can have their space back,” LSS Superintendent Ted Horrell said. “But we have not really been interested in building a stand-alone central office because as we grow and continue to add facilities we want to be sure that whatever funds we have are going directly to students and towards facilities for students.”
When Horrell started with fledgling LSS district in January of 2014, the city offered him an office in City Hall. Now the growing district takes up five offices in the building.
“And as Lakeland has continued to grow, the city needs more space, not less,” Horrell said. “So they have been extremely generous hosting us.”
Lakeland City Manager Shane Horn says the suburb continues to have an outstanding relationship with the district.
“We have shared City Hall space for many years and our residents and taxpayers have realized significant savings and overall convenience from this efficient space-sharing model,” Horn said. “As we continue to grow, addressing current and future office space needs has become a significant area of concern.”
Currently, some city employees are occupying space that was designed for transition and storage areas.
“The office spaces vacated by LSS staff will not be empty long as we will move current staff into more suitable office spaces and prepare for additional staffing needs in the future,” Horn said.
The house on Old Brownsville Road measures just under 2,500 square feet and sits on 25 acres. The district bought the parcel for approximately $933,000.
Horrell envisions a minor renovation that would add a small reception area, meeting and collaborative spaces, individual offices, bathroom, and a parking lot.
“What we want to do is build a place that’s highly functional and comfortable and allows the central office and support staff to do their work,” Horrell said. “I think it’s very possible that it could be done by the first quarter of the next school year.”
Conversion costs are estimated at $150,000 to $200,000, but exact numbers will remain unclear until the architects finish the plans.
Earlier this month at the LSS Board of Education meeting, it was announced that Lakeland-based Renaissance Group is donating its time to design the renovation of the property.
Thanks to the acquisition of the Old Brownsville property, the LSS district turned down an offer for a free parcel of land at the Lakeland Commons mixed-use development on U.S. 70.
Horrell believes the newly renovated space along with additional space created at Lakeland Prep will sufficiently serve the district’s administrative space needs for many years.
There is a possibility that long-term the home could be torn down and a larger central office for the district could be built in its place.
Once the renovation is done, future district board meetings will continue to be held at City Hall.