CREATING THE BEST EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS

Your taxpayer dollars are hard at work creating the best learning environment for students. It is all possible because the community recognized the need and stood behind Hillsborough County Public Schools back in 2018 when it overwhelmingly passed the Education Referendum.

It is important for our community to know exactly how each penny is spent as we continually act as responsible financial stewards. I am proud to announce that to date, the school district has invested more than a half a billion referendum dollars into schoolbased improvement projects.

We have completed 600 projects so far, thanks to the half-penny sales tax. Hillsborough County Public Schools has received more than $631 million dollars from the referendum and invested more than $558 million to date. We’re also happy to highlight that more than 46 percent of the funds have been invested in minority, women-owned or small business enterprises.

Through the guidance of our Citizen Oversight Committee, our leaders are prioritizing projects. One of the many schools reaping the benefits of these projects is Frost Elementary School. We’ve spent nearly $1.5 million to update the air conditioning and heating systems and replace ceilings, fire alarm systems, floors, paint and clocks at the school.

By Superintendent Addison Davis

At this time, architects are in the design phase for schools receiving HVAC overhauls, including Brandon High, Burns Middle, East Bay High, FishHawk Creek Elementary, Nelson Elementary, Sessums Elementary and Shields Middle.

The 2023 summer projects total approximately $47.5 million in repairs, renovations and other improvements funded by the half-penny sales tax. Coming into Hillsborough County as your superintendent three years ago, one of the things I had the luxury of inheriting was a community that truly cared about education and understood the billions of dollars of deferred maintenance that had to be addressed within our facilities.

The community stepped up for our children to approve this referendum in 2018, and we are proud the community realizes the importance of these crucial projects and places their trust in our district as we continue to invest these funds in our schools.

As we continue to accelerate Hillsborough County academically, we will continue to create a welcoming environment for our children to thrive every single day.

For more information about the Hillsborough Counnty Public School Education Referendum and half-penny tax, visit https:// www.hillsboroughschools.org/Page/6652.

First Baptist Church

By Jerry L. Mallams, P.G., Operations Bureau Chief

Q: What does the district do to prepare for hurricane season?

A: Year-round, the Southwest Florida Water Management District operates 84 water control structures in its 16-county area. These structures assist with flood protection, manage lake water levels and prevent saltwater from flowing up freshwater streams and creeks. To prepare for hurricane season, staf conduct annual hurricane readiness checks of all the district’s structures to ensure they are working properly.

Q: What is a critical structure?

A: Some of our flood control structures are considered critical structures, such as the structures associated with the Tampa Bypass Canal System. This system routes flood water from the Hillsborough River around the cities of Tampa and Temple Terrace, providing protection from river flooding. Used in 2017 during Hurricane Irma, the canal system was moving up to 3 billion gallons of flood water a day, sparing homes and businesses along the lower Hillsborough River from flooding

Q: What is the largest flood control system in the district?

A: The Tampa Bypass Canal System is the largest flood control system in the district. It is made up of nine flood control structures, a 6.5-mile earthen dam and 15.7 miles of canals, and it impounds flood waters from the Hillsborough River into the 16,000-acre Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area. As the detention area fills with water from the river and the surrounding 450-squaremile watershed, the flows then enter the

Tampa Bypass Canal and are safely diverted to McKay Bay, protecting the cities of Temple Terrace and Tampa from flooding. The Tampa Bypass Canal System was constructed in response to massive flooding caused by Hurricane Donna in 1960.

Q: How are the structures operated?

A: All the Tampa Bypass Canal structures, along with many other district structures, can be operated remotely or manually. All the district’s mission-critical water control structures, including the 17 flood control structures, are operated remotely by staf using a computer. This allows staf to operate structures 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any location. Approximately half of the district’s water control structures must be manually operated, with staf having to be physically present at the location to operate the structure.

Q: What actions does the district take during an active storm threat?

A: During an active storm threat, district ofcials activate its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to monitor tropical storms and hurricanes. Depending on the level of activation, the district will mobilize appropriate emergency personnel to report to the EOC for extended shifts. Staf will monitor and document water levels and operate water control structures on water bodies throughout the district’s 16-county area as needed. EOC ofcials will maintain direct communications and distribute information to the media, the public and district employees.

Jerry Mallams is a licensed professional geologist in Florida and has worked for the Southwest Florida Water Management District for 26 years. Jerry manages the 84 district-owned food control and water conservation structures and canal rightsof-way within the 16-county area.