Thursday March 28th, 2024 6:45AM

Enota leader looks forward to 'moving out'

GAINESVILLE – Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy Principal Wesley Roach told the Gainesville City School Board Monday evening that the end of his school’s campus-sharing adventure was drawing to a close.

Since August of 2017 Enota MI students have been attending classes on the campus of Centennial Arts Academy while their 64-year old school building was demolished and replaced with a state-of-the-art two-story structure on the same site.

“I want to say ‘Thank you’ to our host school, to Ms. Frierson (Principal Leslie) and the staff at Centennial,” Roach said. 

“They have bent over backwards to accommodate having a guest stay too long,” Roach said laughing.  “They’re looking forward to us moving out (and) we’re looking forward to us moving out.”

The experience has been unique according to Roach, affording blessing and challenge.

“I think getting to know the people at Centennial has been a great thing,” Roach said when asked about his favorite takeaway from the 10-month hiatus from Enota Drive.  “I’ve gotten to know people who work at Centennial that otherwise I would never have rubbed shoulders with like we have this year.”

“The challenge has been that it’s a very limited amount of space for a lot of people every day, but I will commend the work that the grown-ups in the building have done,” Roach added.

What challenges lie ahead?  “Probably the challenge will be to find the time that the teachers need to get in there and get their rooms set up because, you see, ordinarily teachers are not contracted to work during the summer.”

When asked if he knew when the new school would be ready, Roach said, “What I have been told tentatively is that there is an expectation that a Certificate of Occupancy may be granted at the end of this month, perhaps the first of May.”

NEW BUSES BEING PURCHASED

Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Williams told board members, “We still have a bus that daily transports up to 90-students from 1986.”

“Last time I checked they do not provide ‘Antique Tags’ for buses,” he said jokingly   “If they did we would be in good shape there; it is definitely a need for us as a district.”

“We will not be receiving any state funds next year for bus replacement, but it is something that we cannot hold out and wait for the state to replace, so we’re moving forward…replacing one bus out of this year’s budget and three out of next year’s budget, and then the micro-bus out of the fuel-excess for this year.”

According to school documents the new 87-passenger buses are built by Blue Bird Buses and cost $102,900 apiece; the 14-passenger micro-bus is also built by Blue Bird and costs $58,900.

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