School district approves 10-year capital plan
The School District of Lee County’s 10-year capital plan was approved on Jan. 9, putting Cape Coral’s Hector A Cafferata K-8 school and North Fort Myers’ Bayshore K-8 school among the top priorities.
The plan also includes two proposed projects in the South Zone, four new schools in the West Zone and eight schools in the East Zone.
“We moved Bayshore up to 2027. Beginning at the top, Bonita Springs Elementary, the historic building. Hector becomes the second highest priority. Cypress Lake Middle is already under way. We are waiting for portables at Franklin Park to open up for Cypress,” Superintendent Dr. Christoper Bernier said.
Planning Growth & Capacity Director Dr. Adam Molloy said the updated 10-year capital plan included reducing the proposed middle school prototype and advancing one capital project by a year.
The current middle school capacity of 1,200 students moved to a capacity of 1,500 students, a decrease from the previously proposed 1,800 seats.
The updated 10-year capital plan also includes an overall decrease in new seats from 28,380 to 17,480 seats with an estimated cost of $1,484,852,592.
Molloy said with a projected 114,563 seats needed by 2033 they will fall 4,758 seats short for the projected number of K-12 students.
“What does this mean if both projections hold true — portables and additional buildings to maximize?” Molloy said.
The advanced capital project is for Bayshore Elementary — an addition to make the campus a K-8 school — from a 2028 completion date to a 2027 completion date.
The majority of the conversation regarding the plan stemmed solely around Bayshore Elementary at both of the school board’s meetings on Jan. 9. The community came out in droves to talk about their “family” school, which included many students sharing their desire to continue there through middle school.
Bernier said the goal at Bayshore is to create enough space for 150 students to matriculate each year for a total of 450 middle school students. The school has enough space and room to accept the first class and squeeze in the second year.
By having a completion date of 2027, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students would be allowed to occupy the new building by that fall, he said.
“That provides us enough time to plan and permit because Bayshore is not a prototype. It’s a custom build on that property that we have,” Bernier said.
It will take 34 months to get the school ready before the fall of 2027, which includes a 14-month construction period. To accommodate the matriculation of the students, it was discussed that portables may be installed during the 2026-27 school year.
Board Member Armor Persons made the motion to move Bayshore Elementary into the matriculation process for sixth grade students in the 2024-25 school year with subsequent grades and allow the enrollment plan to be amended to reflect the change.
Both Board Members Chris Patricca and Cathleen Morgan voted against the motion.
“We received the motion after the meeting started. We didn’t receive 24-hour notice,” Patricca said, asking that they table the motion, approve the capital plan with the 2027 finish and come back with it in two weeks. “This is a really quick turnaround on a project that is a $50 million decision being made in seven hours.”
Morgan agreed that it should be postponed until Jan. 23, saying there were a lot of unanswered questions.
Persons said if they approve the capital plan, the $50 million is already in it for Bayshore Elementary.
“The only thing we are approving tonight is to start a year early letting the fifth graders move up,” he said. “The difference is in some relocatable in one year, that is the only change.”
Persons said if they did nothing that the fifth graders this year will go on to another middle school and not be able to come back.
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