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Hillsborough Board OKs Boundaries For High Schools

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By ADAM EMERSON

aemerson@tampatrib.com

Published: February 11, 2009

TAMPA - More than 3,500 students will be shuffled among different high schools now that the Hillsborough County School Board has approved new attendance zones.

The anticipated opening of two new high schools in the northwestern and eastern regions of the county freed up hundreds of seats in long crowded schools, and school board members warn that the moves are just the beginning.

Although new construction isn't planned for several years, the district is preparing to survey a countywide school enrollment in need of adjustment. Administrators plan to spend the next few years relieving other crowded schools, and some board members praised the process that got them this far.

The district paid a company called SeerAnalytics $140,000, partly to draft a few dozen maps to facilitate the opening of Steinbrenner and Strawberry Crest high schools. The superintendent narrowed the options to the best and made some last-minute tweaks after hearing from parents.
Community meetings drew hundreds of families with concerns or complaints about the proposals, but no parents attended the school board meeting Tuesday to protest the plans.

Some school board members credited the analyst's work, which was intended to diminish blowback. In years past, parents tried to dismantle other proposals.

SeerAnalytics factored transportation costs, diversity and socioeconomic diversity into models of what schools would look like under the changes.

"This is what I consider a dry run for the bigger picture," board member Susan Valdes said.

When Steinbrenner opens, it will draw about 1,700 students from Sickles and Gaither high schools. Strawberry Crest will open with 1,600 students from Plant City, Armwood and Durant high schools. Hundreds of other students will shuffle among the high schools in those regions.

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285.

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