- April 25, 2024
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City leaders paved the way for a new Maxey Elementary School, but the approvals did not come without some concerns.
City commissioners approved Nov. 10 the annexation, future land-use designation and rezoning of the property for the site, along with an interlocal agreement outlining permitted roadway access for certain vehicles at the old Maxey site.
The new Maxey, slated to open in August 2018, will be located on 8.82 acres on Story Road and Ninth Street. Plans from Orange County Public Schools show the two-story building will be about 75,000 square feet, and the lot will have 144 parking spaces. Although the old Maxey only houses 250 students, the new elementary will accommodate 650.
However, OCPS also plans to reserve space for at least six portables — a proposition for which some commissioners expressed distaste.
“I, for one, don’t like them (portables),” said former Winter Garden city commissioner Harold Bouler. “I see no necessary reason why they have to be there. Plan ahead, and we can make it happen. … We are too smart for just business as usual, so let’s try all we can, do all we can, to make sure we don’t have those ugly-looking trailers.”
Winter Garden Mayor John Rees said he does not find it fair for the students who might need to contend with rain when walking to their next class. There was brief talk of including a prohibition of portables as a condition, but Tyrone Smith, an OCPS representative, informed commissioners that OCPS adopted a general policy to not accept any agreements that forbids portables.
“The portables are necessary to allow the School Board to deal with enrollment trends, which fluctuate very rapidly,” Smith said. “(The commissioners) seem to think it’s a very simple process to just build a building and solve the problem but, unfortunately, that has a cost associated with it.”
The portables were not the only issue that concerned commissioners. Some were concerned with the future use of the old Maxey site, which Smith said is being considered as a potential site for a bus depot.
“We have not made a decision on what will happen at the old Maxey,” Smith said. “We have to evaluate the site and take input from our stakeholders, internal agencies and departments inside of OCPS on what their needs are for a facility or a location.”
Local residents, such as Bouler, are unhappy with the bureaucratic procedures OCPS operates by, as they feel they have been left out of the planning process. Commissioners ultimately approved the initial steps to the proposed school in motion, but are wary, given the uncertainty surrounding the use of portables and the current school's site.
“I think we’re all happy for this school," Rees said, once the motion unanimously passed. "We just don’t know what’s going to happen."
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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected].
