THREE SCHOOLS issues (ongoing)
Parent Pick-up Issues SHS has two main parent pick-up lines, one in the front parking lot off Bahia Vista, and another that renders Hatton Street and School Ave impassable on school days, generally starting around 1.45pm til 2.15pm or so. This is a universal problem, not just for Alta Vista neighborhood, and I don't see where else these cars can wait. One issue is that this many cars, idling with engines on (for A/C, since it's so hot&sunny) -- some for up to 40 minutes each day! -- spew intense air pollution across the abutting residential area. The other issue is that some parents park on neighboring streets (with idling engines) to AVOID the official pickup lines. Over around Riverview High, there are "no pick-up parking" signs on all neighboring streets, but we don't have those over here... Any good solutions???
Public Sidewalks & roadsides maintenance on borders of local schools (Alta Vista Elementary, Sarasota High, SSIS charter) As of August 2024, AVNA is "in negotiations" with the City and the School Department (County) regarding who maintains (i.e. clearing abutting sidewalks of debris, cutting vegetation, etc.) around the perimeters of the schools. More info to follow, once we have answers...
SHS Noise Issue: There have been continuing issues with sometimes-excessive noise levels from Sarasota High PA systems (baseball stadium& batting cage, & football stadium) disturbing neighboring residents. Schools staff are working on mitigating this problem. Meanwhile, RESIDENTS: if excessive noise (not the usual, to-be-expected sounds) is bothering you, call 941-966-7233 (Sarasota County Schools security) and/or email Principal Ryan Chase and Jody Dumas ( ryan.chase@sarasotacountyschools.net [email protected] ).
Parent Pick-up Issues SHS has two main parent pick-up lines, one in the front parking lot off Bahia Vista, and another that renders Hatton Street and School Ave impassable on school days, generally starting around 1.45pm til 2.15pm or so. This is a universal problem, not just for Alta Vista neighborhood, and I don't see where else these cars can wait. One issue is that this many cars, idling with engines on (for A/C, since it's so hot&sunny) -- some for up to 40 minutes each day! -- spew intense air pollution across the abutting residential area. The other issue is that some parents park on neighboring streets (with idling engines) to AVOID the official pickup lines. Over around Riverview High, there are "no pick-up parking" signs on all neighboring streets, but we don't have those over here... Any good solutions???
Public Sidewalks & roadsides maintenance on borders of local schools (Alta Vista Elementary, Sarasota High, SSIS charter) As of August 2024, AVNA is "in negotiations" with the City and the School Department (County) regarding who maintains (i.e. clearing abutting sidewalks of debris, cutting vegetation, etc.) around the perimeters of the schools. More info to follow, once we have answers...
SHS Noise Issue: There have been continuing issues with sometimes-excessive noise levels from Sarasota High PA systems (baseball stadium& batting cage, & football stadium) disturbing neighboring residents. Schools staff are working on mitigating this problem. Meanwhile, RESIDENTS: if excessive noise (not the usual, to-be-expected sounds) is bothering you, call 941-966-7233 (Sarasota County Schools security) and/or email Principal Ryan Chase and Jody Dumas ( ryan.chase@sarasotacountyschools.net [email protected] ).
SCHOOLS update
Our neighborhood still doesn't seem to have an official neighborhood liaison at Sarasota High. So when problems arise -- often small issues that could be easily solved -- who do we local residents contact? We don't know!!
THREE SCHOOLS issues (ongoing)
Parent Pick-up Issues SHS has two main parent pick-up lines, one in the front parking lot off Bahia Vista, and another that renders Hatton Street and School Ave impassable on school days, generally starting around 1.45pm til 2.15pm or so. This is a universal problem, not just for Alta Vista neighborhood, and I don't see where else these cars can wait. One issue is that this many cars, idling with engines on (for A/C, since it's so hot&sunny) -- some for up to 40 minutes each day! -- spew intense air pollution across the abutting residential area. The other issue is that some parents park on neighboring streets (with idling engines) to AVOID the official pickup lines. Over around Riverview High, there are "no pick-up parking" signs on all neighboring streets, but we don't have those over here... Any good solutions???
SHS Noise Issue: There have been continuing issues with sometimes-excessive noise levels from Sarasota High PA systems (baseball stadium& batting cage, & football stadium) disturbing neighboring residents. Schools staff are working on mitigating this problem. Meanwhile, RESIDENTS: if excessive noise (not the usual, to-be-expected sounds) is bothering you, call 941-966-7233 (Sarasota County Schools security) and/or email Principal Ryan Chase and Jody Dumas ( ryan.chase@sarasotacountyschools.net [email protected] ). see below for more info.
Public Sidewalks & roadsides maintenance on borders of local schools (Alta Vista Elementary, Sarasota High, SSIS charter) As of August 2024, AVNA is "in negotiations" with the City and the School Department (County) regarding who maintains (i.e. clearling sidewalks of debris, cutting vegetation, etc.) around the perimeters of the schools. County and City seem to be players in a sort of volleyball game over which entity takes care of which issues. More info to follow, once we have answers...
Parent Pick-up Issues SHS has two main parent pick-up lines, one in the front parking lot off Bahia Vista, and another that renders Hatton Street and School Ave impassable on school days, generally starting around 1.45pm til 2.15pm or so. This is a universal problem, not just for Alta Vista neighborhood, and I don't see where else these cars can wait. One issue is that this many cars, idling with engines on (for A/C, since it's so hot&sunny) -- some for up to 40 minutes each day! -- spew intense air pollution across the abutting residential area. The other issue is that some parents park on neighboring streets (with idling engines) to AVOID the official pickup lines. Over around Riverview High, there are "no pick-up parking" signs on all neighboring streets, but we don't have those over here... Any good solutions???
SHS Noise Issue: There have been continuing issues with sometimes-excessive noise levels from Sarasota High PA systems (baseball stadium& batting cage, & football stadium) disturbing neighboring residents. Schools staff are working on mitigating this problem. Meanwhile, RESIDENTS: if excessive noise (not the usual, to-be-expected sounds) is bothering you, call 941-966-7233 (Sarasota County Schools security) and/or email Principal Ryan Chase and Jody Dumas ( ryan.chase@sarasotacountyschools.net [email protected] ). see below for more info.
Public Sidewalks & roadsides maintenance on borders of local schools (Alta Vista Elementary, Sarasota High, SSIS charter) As of August 2024, AVNA is "in negotiations" with the City and the School Department (County) regarding who maintains (i.e. clearling sidewalks of debris, cutting vegetation, etc.) around the perimeters of the schools. County and City seem to be players in a sort of volleyball game over which entity takes care of which issues. More info to follow, once we have answers...
Voice of the Sailors!. Did you know: Dean Burnside and Matthew VanLanduyt, of Good News Pest Solutions, are the announcers (for Dean, for 15 years!) for SHS football!
2024-2026 SHS construction alert: Hatton Street
Notice all the orange Gilbane fencing along Hatton Street (canal-side, which is county-owned land); they have fenced off that shell lot west of Shade (across from the batting cage), plus the grass field east of Shade, to use for staging materials & equipment, worker parking, and other construction needs, for the duration of the project. No, nothing's being "built" there, just construction staging. In progress: the long-planned major renovation of buildings at Sarasota High, East Campus: new HVAC (air conditioning) system. Some classes are held in the portable classrooms; they have to do this in six phases; expected to take 2+? years. |
SHS Town/Gown Noise Issue: There have been continuing issues with sometimes-excessive noise levels from Sarasota High PA systems (baseball stadium& batting cage, & football stadium) disturbing neighboring residents. Residents have been working with SHS administrators on minimizing this issue. RESIDENTS: whenever excessive noise (not the usual, to-be-expected sounds) are bothering you, call 941-966-7233 (Sarasota County Schools security) and/or email Principal Ryan Chase and Jody Dumas ( ryan.chase@sarasotacountyschools.net [email protected] ).
SHS Town/Gown Noise Issue. Yes, living next to a high school, one expects "the usual" sounds of students, class bells & PA announcements, stadium and sporting events, etc. But one ongoing neighborhood issue that has gotten worse is the overly-loud PA systems at Sarasota High School, including from stadium, baseball field & batting cage, and softball field. Loud music to entertain the students during athletic practices?
As of Feb 2024, Steve M., a TamiSola resident, has been in communication and working with School staff and City staff over the last YEAR AND A HALF (so far!) in an attempt to get SHS to reduce some of this noise encroachment on the neigborhood. He has even gathered signatures on a petition from over 100 local residents concerned about this issue. Below is a report from SHS Principal Ryan on measures the school has taken, so far, to remediate this issue. Thanks to Steve; he got this done!!!
This summer, Principal Chase & his administrators have also been working on testing and adjusting volume levels at the football stadium PA system.
Feb 22, 2024
Sarasota High School's Efforts to Mitigate Sound Production
(courtesy Principal Ryan Chase)
The following efforts have been made since August of 2022 in response to a citizen's complaints about and requests to mitigate the sound generated at Sarasota High School's campus:
- Several meetings, phone calls, and emails to discuss, review, and address concerns
- Lowered bell/announcement volume to a minimum level while still maintaining a standard for safe emergency operations; had it triple checked
- Softball speakers redirected toward center field
- Softball sound system bass frequency turned off (citizen requested to do this himself with softball coach)
- Softball team uses portable speaker during practice instead of stadium speaker to alleviate sound produced
- Baseball speakers repositioned toward center field and speaker facing guest stands repositioned to face the ground
- Noise barrier installed around Chiller Plant on East side of campus -- 3/4 around perimeter to still allow for trucks and other access through fencing
- Communication with stadium announcers to keep volume levels at minimum
- Several instances where citizen called Safety and Security or emailed while administration was campus
- Removed portable speaker and installed new lock in batting cages to prevent access during non-school hours
- Individual conversations with students who rev engines and cause disruption driving down Tami Sola St.
- Coaches shared contact number with citizen to address concerns in real time
- Principal Jones provided the city noise ordinance and instructed citizen to download a decibel-measuring application to provide information any time the school has violated the decibel-level
- Worked with district IT staff to review speaker system in football, baseball, and softball stadiums to identify any upgrades or replacement equipment needed
- District IT staff ordered new mixers for baseball and softball that will allow more robust level limiting (awaiting delivery)
- District IT staff hired third party audio professional to provide training to SHS staff on the operation of audio equipment
- District IT staff removed bass frequency from voice channel at baseball field and minimized on music channel
- District IT staff tested baseball audio system while citizen was at home for real-time feedback.
As of Feb 2024, Steve M., a TamiSola resident, has been in communication and working with School staff and City staff over the last YEAR AND A HALF (so far!) in an attempt to get SHS to reduce some of this noise encroachment on the neigborhood. He has even gathered signatures on a petition from over 100 local residents concerned about this issue. Below is a report from SHS Principal Ryan on measures the school has taken, so far, to remediate this issue. Thanks to Steve; he got this done!!!
This summer, Principal Chase & his administrators have also been working on testing and adjusting volume levels at the football stadium PA system.
Feb 22, 2024
Sarasota High School's Efforts to Mitigate Sound Production
(courtesy Principal Ryan Chase)
The following efforts have been made since August of 2022 in response to a citizen's complaints about and requests to mitigate the sound generated at Sarasota High School's campus:
- Several meetings, phone calls, and emails to discuss, review, and address concerns
- Lowered bell/announcement volume to a minimum level while still maintaining a standard for safe emergency operations; had it triple checked
- Softball speakers redirected toward center field
- Softball sound system bass frequency turned off (citizen requested to do this himself with softball coach)
- Softball team uses portable speaker during practice instead of stadium speaker to alleviate sound produced
- Baseball speakers repositioned toward center field and speaker facing guest stands repositioned to face the ground
- Noise barrier installed around Chiller Plant on East side of campus -- 3/4 around perimeter to still allow for trucks and other access through fencing
- Communication with stadium announcers to keep volume levels at minimum
- Several instances where citizen called Safety and Security or emailed while administration was campus
- Removed portable speaker and installed new lock in batting cages to prevent access during non-school hours
- Individual conversations with students who rev engines and cause disruption driving down Tami Sola St.
- Coaches shared contact number with citizen to address concerns in real time
- Principal Jones provided the city noise ordinance and instructed citizen to download a decibel-measuring application to provide information any time the school has violated the decibel-level
- Worked with district IT staff to review speaker system in football, baseball, and softball stadiums to identify any upgrades or replacement equipment needed
- District IT staff ordered new mixers for baseball and softball that will allow more robust level limiting (awaiting delivery)
- District IT staff hired third party audio professional to provide training to SHS staff on the operation of audio equipment
- District IT staff removed bass frequency from voice channel at baseball field and minimized on music channel
- District IT staff tested baseball audio system while citizen was at home for real-time feedback.
And now, on to OTHER school items ...
SHS New Principal effective Sep 2023, Former Principal David Jones has moved on to a leadership position within the School District. New principal is Ryan Chase. [email protected] (941) 955-0181
Summer 2024, the SHS MURT (multi-use path) around Sarasota High School, a pedestrian mitigation project that the School Dept committed itself to, in conjunction with the 2019 permanent closure of School Ave, is essentially, finally, complete, including the final phase of promised (in 2019) pedestrian mitigation -- widening & landscaping of the sidewalk along Tamiami Trail in front of the Sarasota Art Museum has begun March 2024. The SHS Murt page has details.
FOR THE FUTURE:
At the Aug 15, 2023 School Board Workshop, Jody Dumas presented schools updates including a brief summary of the Sarasota High School Master Plan. (You can view this on youtube, find it from the School Dept website., starting about 1hr & 50 minutes into the 3-hr video.)
Several significant changes are in the works (over the next few years -- no definite timeline yet): Tennis Courts, Performing Arts Center. See below.
September 2023: they constructed a fire road east to west across the northernmost edge of West Campus, for emergency vehicle access, paved the curb cuts and new public sidewalk sections there, reconstructed the little drainage swale impacted by fire road construction. Also, they are beginning a major HVAC (air conditioning) rehab of buildings on East Campus -- which is the reason they installed the "trailer park," that village of portable classrooms. Three grand oaks, which were deemed "in decline," were cut down to clear this corner of campus.
At the Aug 15, 2023 School Board Workshop, Jody Dumas presented schools updates including a brief summary of the Sarasota High School Master Plan. (You can view this on youtube, find it from the School Dept website., starting about 1hr & 50 minutes into the 3-hr video.)
Several significant changes are in the works (over the next few years -- no definite timeline yet): Tennis Courts, Performing Arts Center. See below.
September 2023: they constructed a fire road east to west across the northernmost edge of West Campus, for emergency vehicle access, paved the curb cuts and new public sidewalk sections there, reconstructed the little drainage swale impacted by fire road construction. Also, they are beginning a major HVAC (air conditioning) rehab of buildings on East Campus -- which is the reason they installed the "trailer park," that village of portable classrooms. Three grand oaks, which were deemed "in decline," were cut down to clear this corner of campus.
Tennis Courts
SHS used to have tennis courts, committed to be open to the public off-hours, which were displaced long ago by other structures. Apparently there is a dire shortage of tennis courts throughout Sarasota (many closures), and the students are having trouble accessing play time at other facilities. They HAD been proposing to build on public greenspace in nearby Payne Park, which drew community opposition, but came up with, instead, an on-campus location: on West Campus, the northeast corner, behind the Bay Street homes, just west of School Ave, near the Chiller Plant (where all the portable classrooms are now). Image shows approx. location for tennis courts, AFTER, presumably, the current big HVAC project is complete and all the portable classrooms go away. |
Performing Arts Center
SHS is the last Sarasota County high school that still has an old auditorium but not a performing arts center. Plans show a new PAC, to be located off TamiSola, between School & Shade Aves, between two large SHS parking lots, where the softball field currently stands. No doubt, more info should be available in future... |