TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Addison Davis said 11,000-24,000 students could be impacted by boundary changes and the school repurposing being explored by the district.

What You Need To Know

  • Hillsborough County Public Schools is looking at three scenarios that would involve changing boundaries and repurposing schools

  • Superintendent Addison Davis says 11,000-24,000 students could be impacted

  • Davis said many district schools are over- or under-enrolled, and the options would maximize students' experience and save the district millions

  • The public will get the chance to weigh in at several meetings scheduled for next month

“We understand that this is going to be very difficult for every one of our family members, you know, moving from one school to the next school when they built relationships. So, we have to be very sensitive in this approach,” said Davis. 

Davis said the district is looking at three scenarios that would have varying effects.

An e-mail sent to parents Tuesday lists a dozen schools that are up for either full or partial repurposing. They could fully repurpose Adams Middle School under the first and third scenarios, according to a webinar presentation from WXY Studio.

The consultants working with the district. Sarah Bolanos said she has two students in sixth grade at Adams. She told Spectrum Bay News 9 she hadn’t heard about the proposal as of Wednesday afternoon, but didn’t like the idea of her children having to attend school elsewhere.

“It’s terrible, because I’d rather have my kids here,” said Bolanos. “It’s more convenient for me. It’s the closest school they have.”

“In phase one, we learned that community members understand there has to be something done,” Davis said, referring to public input received so far through efforts like a survey and webinars. “We’ve got to be able to address the under-enrolled schools and also the over-enrolled schools which we have in our school district. The issue is in that same feedback that no one wants their current boundary to be touched. In a perfect world, we wish we could do that. It’s just not the decision we can make.”

Davis said the scenarios will save the district between $132-$169 million in capital funds and between $15-$30 million in annual funds. Davis said that money will go back into the district.

“Allows us to be innovative in our approach. Innovation for being able to recruit and retain high-quality personnel within our school district, allows us to look at repurposing structures,” Davis said.

Attendees at a webinar Tuesday heard that repurposed schools could be turned into a gifted and talented center, a project-based learning center, and a career and tech center.

Those are all just possibilities, and the district stressed in its e-mail that no final decision has been made.

Any changes would take place in the 2023-2024 school year.

The public is invited to attend community meetings taking place between January 9-13 to learn more about the proposals and give input. Details on the meetings and proposed changes can be found at the HCPS Attendance Boundary Analysis web site.