BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — North Florida Technical College’s most popular program will continue preparing truck drivers for the road at a new location north of Lawtey.
A big land deal and generous donation are behind the move.
For a while now, the Bradford County School District has been seeking a new location with for the truck driving program since a lease for the current location at Camp Blanding will not be renewed.
The district could not make a deal for a privately owned parcel adjacent to the current driving range, so the search continued.
The school board held a special meeting Sept. 25 to approve documents securing the new location, which is situated off of County Road 125 northeast of Lawtey.
The timberland was owned by Rayonier and acquired by the North Florida Land Trust, which has for years been acquiring conservation land around Camp Blanding. Funding for the purchase was provided through the United States Army Compatible Use Buffer Program. The program restricts development around the base to compatible uses, including conservation.
With these grant funds, North Florida Land Trust purchased the property, which is being dedicated to the Bradford County School District for its truck driving school.
Superintendent Will Hartley said the district is in turn requesting a Florida Job Growth Grant for a majority of the funds necessary to construct the new facilities. This will include a multiple classroom building and paved driving track.
“We’re extremely lucky and blessed to have the opportunity to essentially be donated a piece of property that size that we can turn around and create a new truck driving school,” he said. “That’s rare to get a donation, but that type of donation, it’s extremely rare for a school district to get something like that.”
The district is looking forward not just to building a new facility, but a building a facility that will allow for the expansion of the program. Hartley said they currently have two instructors and may hire a third. Students come from around Florida and from out of state to the college for truck driving. The college is successful at placing students in well-paying jobs once they are certified.
In the future, Hartley said they would like to add heavy equipment operation and even commercial logging at the new location. They will have more freedom on owned versus leased property.
“There’s several things that I think could be beneficial on a property like that, especially now since we can kind of make it our own,” he said.
Attorney Jeff Grosholz helped see the district through the property acquisition, and he has acknowledged the patience of Hartley and the district, commenting on how unusual this type of donation is for a school district. Hartley also gave credit to the support of state and federal legislators.
So far, there are only rough estimates on how much funding it will take to see the project through to completion — anywhere from $10 million to $15 million. In addition to a pod of four classrooms with a breakroom and restrooms, land will need to be cleared and a track paved, plus mechanic bays built for the trucks.
Hartley said Camp Blanding has been fantastic to work with regarding a still uncertain timeline for moving the program.
“They know that we’re working as fast as we can to try to do what we can do to get off of their property,” he said. “They’ve been very generous with us.”
