There could be major changes soon regarding elementary schools in southeastern Hillsborough County.
The school district is looking to ease overcrowding at one school. And that fix could impact others in the area.
Hillsborough County Schools officials are meeting with Stowers Elementary parents tonight to discuss possible changes.
Thanks to the recent housing boom in southern Hillsborough County, Stowers Elementary (which serves the FishHawk Ranch subdivision in Lithia) is overcrowded. District officials say it needs to sends some students to other area schools, notably Boyette Springs, Bevis and Pinecrest elementaries.
Many parents are not pleased about the possible changes and are voicing their opinions by petitions and emails to the school district.
"Our daughter loves the school and she has made friends here," said parent Nicole Keener. "And she will lose half of them."
Those fears are felt by many parents in the area.
The plan breaks down like this: Students living in the area east of FishHawk Creek would switch to Pinecrest Elementary. Students to the west of FishHawk would move to Boyette Springs Elementary.
And a smaller section of students living near north of FishHawk would be reassigned to Bevis Elementary.
School district officials said students already assigned to Pinecrest, Bevis and Boyette would not be impacted.
"The students that are currently at the other three would remain at those schools," said Hillsborough Schools spokesperson Tanya Arja. "But the students at Stowers, that is the area that we are having the biggest growth in those neighborhoods."
The new boundary maps are just a proposal right now.
Today's meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Stowers Elementary cafeteria, located at 13915 Barrington Stowers Drive in Lithia.