In the mid-1960s, the idea to construct schools to provide students with training in vocational and technical trades was born in the Florida Legislature. Realizing there was a need for specialized training for those students who were not college-bound, the legislators fixed the necessary appropriations to build schools to provide that training.
Citrus County was notified of a $325,000 allocation for a technical school based on certain requirements, one of which was the community’s willingness to forgo localized plans and include other counties in the overall planning. With a June 1st deadline looming and unable to contact the superintendents of Hernando, Marion, and Sumter counties to discuss plans for the school, then-Superintendent James McCall reported in late May to the Citrus County School Board that the outlook for a community vocational school looked poor.
Board Chair Betty Williams, alarmed by the possible loss of opportunity, moved that McCall telephone the Hernando County School Board chair immediately to set up a meeting as soon as possible, which he did during the open meeting. Citrus Board members Betty Williams, Phil Zellner, Horace Allen, Walter Bunts, and Richard Kaufman, accompanied by Senator James E. Connor, met with the Hernando County School Board the very next night. The Hernando County Board agreed to participate in Citrus County’s plans for a vocational technical school, but only to the extent of encouraging adult students to attend the new facility. Immediately after the meeting with the Hernando County Board, the Citrus County Board convened in Inverness, where they agreed to apply for the allocation set up by the State. The other two counties came on board in a similar fashion.
A parcel of land for the school site was offered by John Eden, Jr. but the State declined the offer, citing the proximity to a railroad track. Board member Richard Kaufman believed the ideal location was a tract of Withlacoochee Forest land near the intersection of US 41 and State Road 44. Consisting of 40 acres, the tract was at that time under lease to the City of Inverness from the Forestry Service for an intended outdoor recreation area. The Inverness City Council agreed to relinquish the lease for the sake of building the school. Mr. Kaufman, with the assistance of School Board attorney William Edwards, then negotiated the purchase of the land for $300 per acre.