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Overcrowding in Pasco County schools to be discussed during meeting on Monday

Posted at 5:50 AM, Nov 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-14 06:00:02-05

Major overcrowding problems at several Pasco County schools is forcing the district to make some big changes.

Some schools are set to be re-zoned. That means students will be moved out of their home area. However, the idea is not going over well with a lot of parents, especially those whose families will be directly impacted.

The school district is asking for patience. District officials told ABC Action News that no final decisions have been made.

"First we need to keep in mind that there haven't been any decisions made yet. So, I think there are a lot of assumptions being made at this point in time. There are some people who think they may be re-zoned and they may actually not. So, I think they need to keep an open mind at this point in the process," said Betsy Kuhn with the Pasco County School district.

The committee looking into the overcrowding issue has come up with four possible re-zoning options for West Pasco county schools.

The district has stated that Mitchell High School and Seven Springs middle are extremely overcrowded, while other schools nearby are under capacity.

However, some parents told ABC Action News the idea of re-zoning is not right. They moved to their specific communities for a reason, for many it was the schools.

RELATED | Parents rally against re-zoning due to overcrowding at West Pasco County schools

"Right now we live less the a mile away from the schools that we're zoned for, but if they re-zone it we're going to live 8 miles away from the school. So that changes everything! That changes the opportunity for after school activities, for school activities. It changes how early my wife and I will have to get them up in the morning. It changes everything," said parent Paul Hayes.

Just to give an example of the issues at hand, the district told ABC Action News that Mitchell High school is at 118 percent capacity.

A meeting addressing the issue will be held at River Ridge High School at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 14th.

Parents will have the chance to weigh in on possible changes at that point. The district hopes to have a final plan mapped out by February 1st, 2017.