Hernando School Board Rejects Sunrise Site Over Safety, Environmental Concerns

Shannon Rodriguez had a pointed question for her fellow Hernando County School Board members: why spend $25,000 studying a property most of them had already concluded they didn't want?

The board's vice chair framed the core issue at the April 2 public discussion of a March 24 workshop, where district staff asked members to authorize a property access license agreement and fund environmental, traffic and other due-diligence investigations for the proposed Sunrise school site, situated east of I-75, south of Cortez Boulevard and west of Kettering Road. The board declined.

Rodriguez's objections were specific. The parcel sits adjacent to a sewer plant that is already under discussion for expansion, and directly across from both a Walmart distribution center and a mine, each generating substantial heavy truck traffic. For a school site, that combination raises serious safety concerns. The parcel's low topography compounds the problem, shrinking its practical usable area to roughly 40 acres. "I just don't think this is the property for us," Rodriguez said, questioning whether committing funds to due diligence made sense when the board was already inclined to walk away.

The land had been offered to the district in exchange for impact-fee credits tied to the Sunrise Phase 1 subdivision, with a deadline to accept or reject it by the end of August. Facilities Director Brian Ragan and school planner Jim Lipsey had presented the case for at least investigating the parcel before ruling it out.

Superintendent Ray Pinder reinforced why the board's financial caution extended beyond the $25,000 figure. Disposing of district property is not a simple reversal: selling land requires an arduous process and mandatory state reporting, and any acquisition must align with the district's five-year facility plan. Taking on a constrained site creates lasting obligations, not just a temporary line item.

The Sunrise parcel had been considered as a path to new school capacity in one of the county's faster-growing corridors. The district already owns a site on McKethan Road, but its usable footprint limits it to an elementary or K-8 configuration, leaving a gap for larger-capacity needs. Board member Susan Duval participated in the discussion as members pressed staff for input on alternatives and next steps.

With the Sunrise site effectively off the table, the district faces the same underlying challenge: where to put a school to serve a subdivision that is already underway. Staff was asked to return with alternatives, and the question of site acquisition in that part of the county is unlikely to stay dormant for long.