- April 24, 2024
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Construction for the new Tomoka Elementary is slated to begin in August.
The Volusia County School Board heard an update on the capital construction project during its workshop on Tuesday, April 11. The school, at 999 Old Tomoka Road in Ormond Beach, will be rebuilt on site.
The project is estimated to cost $49.3 million, according to the funding sources listed in the district’s presentation.
The relocation of the Tomoka campus to the former Osceola Elementary campus, where students will be housed during construction, will take place in June.
The school district expects construction to finish sometime in July 2024, with a groundbreaking to occur in June of this year.
“I’m excited about it,” School Board member Carl Persis said. “Can’t wait to see the wrecking ball.”
Persis, who represents District 4 on the School Board, served as principal of Tomoka Elementary for 13 of his 28 years as a principal in the district.
School Board member Ruben Colon asked if the district had budgeted funds for teachers to get their classrooms ready at the Osceola campus over the summer.
“We know we’re going to need them to make the new school as hospitable as possible,” Colon said.
Chief Operation Officer Earl Johnson said the district hadn’t budgeted for that, since when teachers move during the summer, they have the chance to set up their rooms during pre-planning hours or before on their own time.
“I have opened up schools before, and that has always been the case,” Johnson said.
Colon said the district should look at compensating teachers for the time they spend setting up a classroom on the temporary campus, even if it’s only two or three days of compensation.
“I have no expectation that anybody would do that in their own time, so I think it’s something we may need to talk to our stakeholders,” he said.
Persis agreed with Colon.
“[Teachers] can’t be doing all of this extra work and participate in professional training and all of the other things they are supposed to be doing,” Persis said. “... There’s only so much time in a school day.”
The Ormond Beach City Commission passed a resolution on March 21 to authorize the start of construction for the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center renovation, and construction is expected to begin soon, beginning with a demolition phase.
“The scope of the renovation project includes the construction of a new shade structure at the fountain entrance, stucco and painting of the exterior rock façade, new flooring, lighting, and ceilings in the lobby, new lobby staircase and restrooms, a donor wall, among other improvements,” the city stated in a press release.
The city purchased the building in May 1988.
It used to be a church, formerly known as the Calvary Assembly of God Church.
The renovations, to cost $1.7 million, are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
