TAMPA, Fla. — Tuesday marks day two of community meetings regarding big changes to Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Up to 24,000 students could be attending a different school come August depending on which school boundary scenario the district decides to pursue.
Superintendent Addison Davis said the district has to re-draw school boundary lines to address overcrowded and under-enrolled schools, an issue impacting schools across the country.
The pandemic wreaked havoc on American classrooms. The National Center for Education Statistics found 1 million students left the country's public schools from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020. Some went the homeschooling route, and others enrolled at private schools.
"You have to look, in the last three years, our kids have been through a lot. Our teachers have been through a lot, our families have been through a lot," Davis said during a news conference Monday.
Hillsborough County Schools, the country's seventh largest district, continues to grow but the influx has caused an imbalance in school enrollment numbers.
"Some schools are very overpopulated and then a school two miles in the distance is very underpopulated," School Board Chair Nadia Combs said.
The district outlined three new scenarios for school zones which could impact anywhere from 11,000-24,000 students. That's about 6-14 percent of the district population.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Search your address: www.hcps-boundary.org
The following schools have been identified for possible repurposing, meaning they would no longer operate as schools but rather some other need for the district:
- Adams Middle School
- Chamberlain High School
- Cleveland Elementary School
- Greco Middle School
- Jennings Middle School
- Just Elementary School
- Kimbell Elementary School
- Madison Middle School
- McLane Middle School
- Monroe Middle School
- Morgan Woods Elementary School
- Smith Middle School
Some parents are concerned about academics as some new boundary lines take their children from an A-rated school to a C-rated school. Others see a situation where inequities are amplified.
District leaders say no plan is final and encourage families to provide feedback.