The lunchrooms and the walkway and courtyard at Cypress Creek Middle High School were finally filled by students as the new school, while others across Pasco County were back in business on Aug. 14. (Photo: Pasco County Schools)
Among the thousands of students who went back to school in Pasco County on August 14, more than 1,500 of them spent their first day at Wesley Chapel’s newest school, Cypress Creek Middle High School, which is located off Old Pasco Rd.
Cypress Creek Middle High was expected to open with about 1,500 students, but actually had 1,603 students show up on the first day. The school’s capacity is 1,958 students, so it still has some room to grow.
The new school was needed to relieve crowding at not only Wiregrass Ranch High and John Long Middle schools, but also has students who previously were zoned for Sunlake and Wesley Chapel high schools, as well as Weightman and Rushe middle schools.
All students at the new school follow the same bell schedule, from 7:25 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.
“The first few days have been outstanding,” said Cypress Creek principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles. “Our students are enjoying their new environment and are learning the layout of the campus. Other than the normal situation of getting used to the routine, and watching to see where we need to change procedures with car loop or bus loop, etc., we have truly had an amazing first few days.”
Hetzler-Nettles also said that the campus was filled with Parent Teacher Student Association members helping students find their classes, and even Pasco Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning was on hand to help welcome the students and direct them to their new classes.
Cypress Creek Middle/High. (Photo: Cypress Creek Howler)
“It takes a village to open a new school,” added Hetzler-Nettles, “and our community has just been so welcoming and helpful! We couldn’t have done it without them and are excited for our future!”
Among those who helped get the teachers set up in their new digs at the school on July 26 were volunteers from the Pasco Education foundation and the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel.
At Long Middle School, one of the schools that lost students to Cypress Creek, principal Christine Wolff said, “You always miss the kids on campus that you have grown attached to, and my wish for all of our former students is to have a good adjustment and get excited for learning, and take that excitement for learning with them wherever they are.”
She says that while Long’s enrollment numbers are down slightly (1,488 students were enrolled on opening day this year, versus 1,810 last year), the school is still over capacity because of all the growth in the area.
“We did have a smooth start to the school year,” Wolff says, “And, just like all of our Pasco County schools, we’re focused on meeting our school improvement goals and making sure they (the teachers and students) are meeting the learning standards in the classroom.”
And at Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), the 10-period schedule is a thing of the past, as many former students have new homes at either Cypress Creek Middle High or WCH.
A contentious rezoning process last year was designed to ease the overcrowding at Wiregrass Ranch while also filling the new school.
“We had a great start,’’ said WRH principal Robyn White. “We are back to the 7-period day, and while there are a lot of students on campus at the same time, it is manageable. We started day one with a little over 2,200, which was a decrease of 300 from last year.”
CORRECTION: We inadvertently omitted New River Elementary from our chart of Pasco County school grades in our last issue. We’re really sorry about that, because principal Lynn Pabst and the students and teachers at New River earned a “B” grade for the third consecutive year.
The times they are a’changing, and so, too, are libraries, according to Bob Harrison of Pasco County Libraries.
“Typically when people think of libraries, they think of books,” Harrison told local business leaders on July 20, during a Lunch n’ Learn program in the Don Porter Boardroom at the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), which sponsored the event. “But, we’re so much more than just books.”
Harrison said area libraries are taking a quantum leap into the future with a litany of new services offered to both small businesses and residents of Pasco County.
Although the image of libraries may be of dusty old bookshelves and gray-haired librarians demanding total silence, one of the first services detailed by Harrison was the addition in many county libraries of community meeting rooms.
Space is subject to availability, but having a public space to meet can be an asset for a small business or organization. Heck, just look around at any coffee shop during the day, and you can see all kinds of business meetings taking place. The library not only offers free internet, but alsolow-cost printers and copiers.
“We are trying to become part of the Maker Movement that’s sweeping the nation right now,” Harrison said. “The libraries have jumped into it.”
Maker Spaces, as they are dubbed, are being created across the county’s seven branches in Hudson, Regency Park, Centennial Park, South Holiday, Hugh Embry, Land O’ Lakes and the New River branch library at 34043 S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel.
The New River library has a meeting room that can accommodate up to 30 people, and does not even require a library card to book, which can be done at PascoLibraries.org.
Adrienne Hymes, Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, sees it as an opportunity, as she said her church is looking to incorporate new members from the Wesley Chapel area.
“We are trying to establish a church in Wesley Chapel, and we need options for meeting spaces,” Hymes said.
Additionally, Pasco’s libraries offer a conduit to the WCCC and to the Pasco County Economic Development Council (EDC).
With that access, potential or existing business owners can learn the ins and outs of how to start and/or run a business in the county, and receive direction to the appropriate places for permitting or licensing information that goes beyond a typical Google search.
All you need is a library card.
AtoZDatabases.com, for example, offers access to business listings not just in the county, but nationwide. The site is a subscription site, but can be used for free at the library. The sitesays that while Google and other search engines are valuable tools, they are limited to simple searches. AtoZDatabases can handle more complex questions, and returns the information in a consistent format.
“All the information you need is in one place,” Harrison says.
Pasco County library card holders also can access Demographics Now, a database that gathers information from the US Census from 2000 and 2010, as well other sources. There, users can find information about population density, income, ethnicity, even retail spending figures on households — information that can be vital when deciding whether to start a new business and where it might be most successful.
“I already have a (Pasco library) card, I just didn’t know these services were available,” said Roslyn Yee, founder of Vibrant Life International, a wellness consulting company in Lutz. “I like to be able to research companies. Now, it looks like I can do this from the comfort of my own home.”
Another invaluable tool in Pasco County Libraries’ online arsenal is access to Lynda.com, a popular online training company that offers more than 6,000 video courses on business, technology, software and marketing, to name just a few.
Users can access videos teaching Adobe products like Photoshop or Creative Suite, and other programs. You can learn how to shoot better photos with your DSLR camera, or how to how to master WordPress.
The site boasts more than 1,200 design courses, and over 700 web development and design courses. Lynda.com was acquired by LinkedIn,and typically requires a monthly fee.
However, with a library card, users can access the premium version through the library website. All library cardholders need is their online access password, and they can even use the service from their home or office computers.
It’s all part of Pasco County Libraries’ vision for the future.
“We see a future for the county library system being heavy on tech and all community-driven,” Harrison said.
That includes things like a Community Garden Maker Space at the New River branch, a new sound studio being built at the Hudson branch and a woodworking shop at the Land O’ Lakes branch.
Volunteers help staff the spaces and libraries are always seeking more volunteers. The ideas for new services are generated by feedback from the community.
“We want residents to drive it,” said Harrison. “We want the library to be more than a knowledge center, we want it to be a hub for the community.”
During the WCCC workshop, Harrison said that Pasco’s libraries spend only $12 per person per year, while the average spent by the rest of the state’s counties is $26 per person.
“We are good stewards of your tax dollars,” Harrison said. “But, as the county grows, we expect to be able to offer additional services as demand grows.”
Southern Pasco County, especially the Wesley Chapel area, is booming with growth. A growing property tax base, along with a 501 (c)(3) Friends of the Library charitable organization, are primarily responsible for funding the library’s current leap into the 21st Century.
Once the increases are all rolled in over the next three years, these will be the school impact fees in Pasco County.
As expected, and facing a dire need to build more schools in the quickly growing parts of the Pasco County — particularly Wesley Chapel — the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted Aug. 15 to raise school impact fees on new homes.
The unanimous decision by the BCC was no surprise. Prior to the BCC’s last board meeting on July 13, the Pasco County School District and the Tampa Bay Builders Association (TBBA) had forged a deal to phase in an impact fee increase of roughly $3,500 over three years — $2,252 on Jan. 1, 2018, and $600 on Jan. 1 in 2019 and 2020.
The commissioners all signaled their support for the increase at that meeting, but were unable to vote on the ordinance at the time because it had changed significantly from what was originally advertised.
The delay was to allow for further public comment, but there was only one speaker, who actually spoke in favor of the increase, at the Aug. 15 meeting.
The impact fee on a new single-family home, currently $4,828, will be bumped to $7,128 beginning in January. For any applications filed after Dec. 31, 2019, the last year of the phased-in increase, the impact fee on a new single-family home will be $8,328.
Impact fees are charges assessed on new construction to pay for other infrastructure needed to accommodate growth. In Wesley Chapel for example, homes are continuing to be built and the area continues to grow so rapidly that most of the elementary, middle and high schools have been over capacity (see story on page 13).
Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) has been on a 10-period schedule for the last two years, and while the rezoning will alleviate some overcrowding, the school still has no room. Cypress Creek, which opened Aug. 14 as a combined middle/high school, has roughly 1,900 students, which also is near its capacity.
Combining a middle and high school is not ideal.Pasco County Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning said he hopes to have a separate middle school built in four years on the Cypress Creek campus, as the new fees are expected to raise more than $200 million over the next decade for school construction.
The school district had formed a School Impact Fee Committee (SIFC) to study the issue, which hadn’t been done since a 2007 study that never went to a BCC vote. The SIFC met four times between March and April of this year and looked at a dozen options to raise enough funds for new schools to accommodate an expected increase over the next 10 years of 7,500 students. The members of the committee decided that the best way to raise the funds without requiring a referendum was the increase in home impact fees.
District staff recommended an increase to $9,028, or an 85 percent increase that it said would pay for four or five new schools those 10 years.
The TBBA was hoping to keep the increase to $7,176, or a 48-percent raise, which means that the school district got 92 percent of the increase it was seeking.
The Mystic Oaks Family & Cosmetic Dentistry family (l.-r.): Dr. Somasekhara Reddy Kaipu, MD, Dr. Prematee Sarwan, DDS, office mgr. Sasha Cruz & Cecilia Carrasco, EFDA.
If you’ve been avoiding a needed trip to the dentist, there’s a new practice offering a gentle approach to dental care for New Tampa and Wesley Chapel residents to consider when they need treatment for their teeth.
Mystic Oaks Family & Cosmetic Dentistry in The Shops at Mystic Oak neighborhood retail center at the intersection of Redfern Way and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. here in Wesley Chapel, is operated by Prematee Sarwan, DDS, who says she is committed to improving people’s smiles by first easing their concerns.
According to Dr. Sarwan, her patients’ worries aren’t always related to physical pain and discomfort.
“The big issue we deal with is fear; fear of what I’m going to say, fear of cost, fear of judgment,’’ she says. “People don’t want to be judged and we’re just not about that.”
At Mystic Oaks, people who come in for treatment are referred to as guests, not patients. Dr. Sarwan says a little hospitality in a clinical setting can go a long way to improving the quality of care and health.
“We want them to feel so comfortable at the end of their visit that they want to come back,” she says.
For Dr. Sarwan, an informed guest is empowered to take ownership of his or her own dental health and appearance.
“First of all, we’re here to educate and try to alleviate fear,” says Dr. Sarwan, who earned her DDS degree from the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in Loma Linda, CA.
Recognizing that the way some dentists work can turn a mouth into an oral construction zone, Dr. Sarwan and her team are committed to a different approach — putting your comfort at the forefront of everything they do.
“People may have had experiences in the past that make them apprehensive, but our motto is ‘Gentle Dentistry,’ that’s just what we’re trying to do,” says Dr. Sarwan, who has 10 years of experience as a dentist in group practice but can now treat her patients the way she would like to be treated.
Dr. Sarwan reviews a digital X-ray with a patient.
Dr. Sarwan adds that she and her team do everything possible in using their skills to ensure that procedures will be as painless as possible, which means going beyond just administering local anesthesia or nitrous oxide and relying on technology.
“My technique is very gentle, and it’s something I’ve developed over a period of time,” Dr. Sarwan says. “It’s definitely not something they teach you in dental school.”
Patient Mercy Diggs-Terc says Dr. Sarwan’s technique is indeed gentle, and found that getting some dental fillings at Mystic Oaks Dentistry was a welcome contrast to what she experienced at other practices.
“(Dr. Sarwan and her staff) were very caring and friendly and patient,” Diggs-Terc says. “If you were nervous about any of the procedures being done, you could take little breaks. They did everything possible on their end to make me feel as comfortable as possible.”
Diggs-Terc adds that Mystic Oaks Dentistry is ideal for people who have been avoiding a necessary dental treatment.
“For especially the patients that have any anxiety over dentists, this would be the number one place that I would recommend,” she says. “I’ve tried a lot of dentists and (Dr. Sarwan is) the best one so far in making me feel comfortable.”
Dr. Sarwan’s new practice also is garnering Five-Star Google reviews from patients, with a 5.0 overall rating from five reviews as of our press time.
A full range of dental services is available at Mystic Oaks Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, including cleanings, fillings, crowns, bridges, implants, veneers, teeth straightening and even complete smile makeovers, which also can incorporate the use of dermal fillers to reduce wrinkles around the mouth that can occur through loss of teeth or the vital bone structure.
This occurs when the supporting bone tissue of the upper and lower jaws dissolves and the muscles of the face can lose support, which allows wrinkles to deepen.
Botox injections also can be administered by Dr. Sarwan, who lives in Wesley Chapel with her husband, Dr. Somasekhara Reddy Kaipu, MD, and their two young children.
“We are a full-service dental practice catering to both kids and adults,” she says.
Top-Notch Tech, Too!
Dr. Sarwan’s skillful and gentle techniques are supported the dental industry’s latest technology, such as digital X-rays (digital dental radiography) and digital impressions, in place of physical molds.
Digital radiography is more sensitive than traditional film techniques. which means greater safety, since lower levels of radiation are needed to produce the images. There also is a quicker turnaround time to viewing the images, which can be reviewed on a monitor in front of the guest’s chair.
Mystic Oaks Dentistry also has eliminated one of the more distasteful procedures — the taking of dental impressions with putty-like materials made of alginate or silicone. Instead, Dr. Sarwan offers a state-of-the-art digital alternative, using the iTero Element Scanner.
A wand-like scanner is used to take images of the teeth and gums, which can be used to create 3D models for producing crowns, bridges and implants.
To help pass the time while receiving dental treatments, Dr. Sarwan’s guests can watch some of their favorite programs on the same chairside monitors used to view the digital X-rays and impressions.
Dr. Sarwan’s perspective on dentistry encompasses how good dental health affects the whole body.
“My vision is health before anything,” she says. “Don’t underestimate the value of a healthy mouth. Your mouth is the gateway to your body.”
Published research available online at the American Dental Association’s website (ada.org) examines the relationships between oral health and illnesses such as heart disease.
The holistic approach to the dental experience at Mystic Oaks Dentistry extends to the treatment rooms themselves, which are identified by the names of trees — Palm, Oak, Pine and Maple — instead of numbers.
“We’ve created a space that’s less clinical, to increase comfort,” Dr. Sarwan says.
That comfort begins with the initial contact, which could very well be with office manager Sasha Cruz.
“The important thing is to take care of people and not to judge them,” says Cruz, who also coordinates PPO network and other insurance coverage as well as an in-house dental savings plan that offers discounts on services. Mystic Oaks Dentistry also accepts payments through CareCredit financing.
Cecilia Carrasco is an Extended Function Dental Assistant (EFDA), which is a dental assistant who has received additional training and certification to perform services such as applying sealants to teeth and taking the digital dental impressions.
She also is skilled at getting to the root of someone’s dental concerns, according to Dr. Sarwan.
“Cecilia gets more insight into what their main complaint is,’’ Dr. Sarwan says, “so that by the time I come into the room, I already understand the situation.”
While the practice has only been open since June, Dr. Sarwan says her team has really come together. “We’re just about a family now,” she says.
Mystic Oaks Family & Cosmetic Dentistry is offering a Welcome Exam and X-ray for $39, and a Healthy Mouth Cleaning for $59 for new patients.
For more info about Mystic Oaks Family & Cosmetic Dentistry (3751 Bruce B Downs Blvd.) visit online at MysticOaksDental.com, or call (813) 291-0059.
David DeWeerd, CPA (right), and Wesley Chapel office manager Liyen Coffey of Kehoe & DeWeerd, CPA, in the Cypress Glen Professional Park off S.R. 56.
The clock is running out on the 2017 tax return season’s “second half,” when individuals and businesses taking advantage of a six-month extension find themselves facing the inevitability of now having to file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
For those needing help preparing their returns, the accounting professionals at Kehoe & DeWeerd, CPA PA,located in the Cypress Glen Professional Park, just north of SR 56 in Wesley Chapel, are ready to assist.
“We’re here to help anyone who has requested an extension to file,” says David DeWeerd, CPA. “Sometimes, you need additional time to get things together or circumstances in your life prevent you from getting documents in order.”
According to the IRS website (irs.gov), about 15 million individual returns were filed with extensions last year.
The extended filing deadline for individuals is Monday, October 16. That is also the deadline for “C” corporations to file a form 1120 return.
But, the extended deadline is even earlier — Friday, September 15 — for businesses whose normal filing date was March 15 of this year. These include partnerships (form 1065 or 1065-B) and “S” corporations (form 1120S).
DeWeerd says that while people and businesses are only dealing with their tax returns between January and October, Kehoe & DeWeerd is available throughout the year to assist with decisions and situations that may affect tax liabilities, such as whether to buy or lease a car, how a change in income or revenue should be handled or whether something is deductible on a tax return. DeWeerd says clients can inquire about those types of issues with Kehoe & DeWeerd without being nickled and dimed.
“We don’t send out bills for phone calls,” he says, adding that initial consultations, whether for business or personal finance clients, are free.
According to DeWeerd, who has been with Kehoe & DeWeerd for 18 of its 32 years, the firm’spurpose is clear: “We want to make sure we do the very best we can to give you the best outcome possible on your taxes,” he says. “We prepare your tax returns so that you never hear from the IRS.”
He adds that if a client does end up getting audited, Kehoe & DeWeerd will be there when needed. “We definitely stand behind everything that we do,” he says.
Everyone’s tax situation is different and, in a service profession like accounting, meeting the needs of a variety of clients calls for an individualized approach.
“We’re a smaller firm, so we’re able to do that and look at their return on a more customized basis and be more thorough,” says DeWeerd,who has a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy (MAcc) degree from the University of South Florida (USF) College of Business in Tampa.
Some of the related services Kehoe & DeWeerd offers include developing tax management strategies with clients to minimize liabilities and maximize cash flow, as well as estate and trust planning, once again to minimize tax liabilities.
A Little Feedback…
Meadow Pointe resident Paul Davies, who is a professional stage technician for musical performing artists, says he finds Kehoe & DeWeerd’s personalized practices to be a good fit for his needs because his employment status varies and he incurs tax obligations in many states and foreign countries through his work.
“I’m a sole proprietor, so it means sometimes I’m on W-2 income and sometimes it means I’m on 1099 income,” says Davies. “A lot of it is out-of-state work, and international as well, and when you go into various states you get charged withholding against a local state liability.”
He adds, “Sometimes, I’ve had to file 10 state returns for my normal tax year, so it was important for me to get someone who has an understanding of not just taxes as they pertain to Florida, but taxes as they pertain to traveling all over the world.”
Accessibility is another thing Davies says he likes about Kehoe & DeWeerd.
“I know I can reach David anytime I need to talk to him, or send him an email from anywhere I’m at and ask him a question about something,” he says. “He does a fantastic job and he doesn’t send me an invoice every time I ask him a question.”
Meadow Pointe resident Heather Stamp sells real estate through Exit Prime Realty and is the founder and chief executive officer of the Wesley Chapel Network, which promotes and connects 17,000 online business professionals and service providers.
As a busy entrepreneur, she says DeWeerd has been her “go-to guy for anything financial for the last three years and will be for many more to come.”
That kind of peace of mind is invaluable. “Taxes can be very stressful and he puts me at ease,” says Stamp.
When it comes to their small business clients, the firm does more than just prepare tax returns. As any business owner knows, the compliance and reporting requirements levied upon them by government agencies and entities (such as sales and payroll taxes), are numerous and must be met. DeWeerd says his firm takes care of those requirements, and more, such as payroll processing and managing employee benefits. Kehoe & DeWeerd also is certified by Intuit, Inc., to install and manage QuickBooks accounting software for clients.
“We’re always on top of all those deadlines,’’ he says. “It’s important to have somebody you trust to look out for your business and do what’s best for you.”
That’s what Dr. Prematee Sarwan, D.D.S., owner of Mystic Oaks Family & Cosmetic Dentistry in Wesley Chapel (see story on pg. 24), says she was looking for when she hired Kehoe & DeWeerd to take care of her practice’s tax and payroll needs.
She says delegating those responsibilities allows her to concentrate on her patients.
“It means that I can take care of the other things in the office because I know David has me covered when it comes to the taxes and payroll,” Dr. Sarwan says. “And he’s so accessible. I can call him at any time with any question.”
Dr. Sarwan also expresses appreciation for the customer service she receives from the Kehoe & DeWeerd staff.
“We’ve been on the phone with Liyen (Coffey) so much, and she’s wonderful,” Dr. Sarwan says.
Coffey manages the firm’s Wesley Chapel office, and she says the client’s needs come first. When clients visit the office for the first time, especially for tax consultations, they should bring in all of the relevant documents, such as tax returns from the previous years. “We try to make them feel at ease when they come in,” Coffey says.
Kehoe & DeWeerd has successfully served the west Pasco community for more than three decades, initially in Port Richey and now in Trinity. Thomas Kehoe, who has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Accounting from the USF College of Business Administration, founded the firm in 1985.
DeWeerd, who serves on the Board of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, says that he and Kehoe opened the Wesley Chapel office together in November of 2015 to meet the financial management needs of the growing east Pasco community.
“We have a strong client base in west Pasco and would like to build those same relationships here,” DeWeerd says.
Kehoe & DeWeerd’s Wesley Chapel office is located at 26829 Tanic Dr., Suite 102. For more info, visit KDCPA.net or call (813) 279-2977.
