HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Liam Smith and his parents can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
For weeks, they’ve been three of the hundreds of people pushing back against Hillsborough County Public Schools’ effort to adjust its attendance boundaries which would change where thousands of students attend school.
In an email sent to district parents on Thursday evening, Superintendent Addison Davis has unveiled a new plan — dubbed Scenario 4 — that he said will cause “the least student disruption districtwide” while helping the district save money by better utilizing its campuses.
“At the upcoming February 13 School Board Workshop, I will make a recommendation for Scenario #4,” Davis wrote in the email.
Smith and his parents like what they see in the new plan.
“We definitely support it because I’m not getting moved!” the 11-year-old exclaimed.
Smith is one of many students and parents in the Westshore Palms neighborhood who were worried about two of the three previous scenarios, which were unveiled by the district in December.
Right now, students there are generally zoned to attend three Grade-A schools: Grady Elementary School, Coleman Middle School, and Plant High School.
Scenarios two and three would send them to lower-performing schools in the area.
“Liam will most likely — we’ll try for choice if that does not work out — I think the private schools are pretty much all filled for next year — he would be homeschooled,” Michele Gonzalez Smith, his mother, said previously.
Scenario four would keep Smith and his neighbors in Coleman Middle and Plant High.
“We are elated beyond belief, not only for ourselves but for all the other families in the district that are being affected,” said his father, Brad Smith.
Superintendent Davis would address other concerns raised by parents too. It would convert Carrollwood Elementary School into a K8 school. It would create a newcomers initiative for immigrant families in the Town ‘n’ Country area. It would also allow the district to save money by repurposing six underutilized campuses.
“This was all about engaging our community, using the online feedback, and also being very sensitive and compassionate about how hard this is,” Davis said.
The new plan would still change where 15,000 kids go to school, but Davis also announced plans to slow down the proposed changes until the 2024-2025 school year for most of the students impacted. It would also grandfather a number of students, like rising 8th graders and rising 12th graders, into their current schools for the 2024-2025 school year.
Additionally, Davis said scenario four will:
- Reduce the number of very over-utilized and very under-utilized schools from 23 to 0;
- Increase the number of schools in the well-utilized range (80%-95%) from 67 to 79;
- Reduce the number of schools under 60% capacity from 13 to 0;
- Reduce the distance students travel to school by 39,862 miles;
- Reduce transportation recurring costs by $5,339,439;
- Increase annual recurring cost savings by $12,841,772.02 (including the above transportation savings)
Smith and his parents say Superintendent Davis has earned their respect.
“He showed his honesty and respect doing this because he listened to everything we had to say and took it all into consideration,” the 11-year-old said.
The school board will have the final say on which scenario is picked, if any, in a series of upcoming meetings.
To see the full timeline, explore the new scenario, and learn more about upcoming public comment sessions, click this link.
