PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — It’s been the subject of many school district meetings.
“For about probably 20 years,” said Ray Gadd, the Deputy Superintendent for Pasco County Schools.
The idea of building a technical high school on the east side of Pasco County is finally coming together.
"I think there’s a growing realization in this country that not every kid needs to go to college to be successful,” he said.
Wendell Krin Technical High on the west side of Pasco just passed it’s first year and the state gave it an A rating.
"I think what we’ve seen in our first technical school is that there is tremendous interest from families,” said Allen Altman, the school board member for District 1.
Gadd says certain industries across the Tampa Bay area are starving for new employees.
"The automotive industry is exploding and they’re asking us, please turn out more technicians and kids that know how to work on modern automobiles,” he said.
Altman says the team behind the school has talked with Pasco County businesses to get a grasp on the type of employee they’re looking for in industries like engineering, digital technology, business, health science and architecture.
“Not for yesterday or today, but what jobs will be needed in the future,” he said.
The school will be built on donated land near the intersection of Curly Road and Kiefer Road, and will hold nearly 900 students. They’ll also allow industry leaders to use space within the school to help create connections with students.
"They start impacting kids, they start rubbing elbows with them and there’s a synergy created there, and we start developing partnerships out of that goodwill that we show each other,” Gadd said.
District officials would love suggestions on what to name the school. Send ideas and a short description to dhebert@pasco.k12.fl.us with the subject line "school name." You can also fax them at (813) 794-2716.
