With school starting next week, the Dade Board of Education held a special called meeting on Monday to iron out some important last-minute details. One was an enduring problem, traffic patterns at the oddly-laid-out Dade Middle School.
The school board heard various options and then voted to approve an option that keeps traffic one-way in both morning and afternoon peak times and segregates car and bus traffic.
Board member Johnny Warren pointed out that none of the options presented by an engineering group that had studied the problem dealt with the new cross-country track that runs along parts of the contemporaneously-built access road behind the school. It was discussed closing off the access gate after 3:30 p.m. when track practice was heaviest. But it was determined that the gate had to stay open at all times to accommodate deliveries. Board member Gen. Bob Woods (ret.) concluded that the first order of business was to get traffic flowing smoothly; then the matters of the track and what to do about additional parking for track meets could be dealt with later.
It was unclear whether signage for the new traffic pattern could be finalized before school starts Aug. 7, but Superintendent Jan Harris said Dade County was usually willing to help the schools in situations like that. "They usually bend over backwards," she said.
The board also okayed plans for an aftercare program at Dade Elementary and agreed to surplus an elderly truck that no longer worked.Finally, it approved the hiring of Carlton “Skip” Pittman as Davis School guidance counselor and Madison Scott as a worker in the aforementioned DES aftercare program.
Institute, the school year opening ceremony for staff, faculty and community leaders, is this Friday, Aug. 2, at 8 a.m. at Dade High. Then open house for parents and students is Aug 6 at Dade Elementary and Davis schools from 4:30-6 p.m., at Dade Middle and Dade High schools from 5-6:30 p.m. First day back to school for students is Aug. 7.
