Polk County Schools is looking at high school rezoning options

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The ripple effect of explosive growth in Polk County means more cars on the road and more kids in the classroom.

“The more kids you put into a classroom, the harder it's going to be to keep everybody on task,” said parent Kat Nickell.

The district recognizes that with a growing community, some schools may be crowded while others have space.

WATCH: Polk County Schools is looking at high school rezoning options

“As an English teacher, I'm not grading 25 essays per class. I'm grading 38 essays per class, and then times that by six classes, I had roughly 212 students at any given time,” said Nickell.

Now, Polk County Schools said it's exploring options for adjusting the attendance boundaries of high schools. The district said it’s taking this step to balance enrollment in schools and maximize available resources.

"The east and the west sides of Polk County are exploding as suburbs of Tampa and Orlando, and our middle section of Polk, we are finding that our schools have a little less utilization,” said Stephanie Yocum, the president of the Polk Education Association. “This has been something that really this district has needed to address for a while.”

Read the Comprehensive High School Rezone Board Presentation as of July 2025
Comprehensive High School Rezone Board Presentation as of 24 July 25 by ABC Action News on Scribd

District leaders said they won't require students currently enrolled in one of their high schools to switch to a different school.

“As a parent of a child in Polk County, while he's not in high school yet, he's still in elementary school, this is going to impact us eventually,” said Yocum.

Yocum said this comprehensive rezoning is much needed.

"We as a community have to recognize that we have to use tax dollars appropriately, and part of that is making sure that our schools are zoned the way they need to be zoned, that we are utilizing all of our facilities to the maximum that they can, and that helps us streamline and use staffing models the way they need to be used,” said Yocum.

No decision has been made yet, but the district said the school board could make a final decision and approve new high school boundaries by October.

The district shared this anticipated timeline:

• Aug. 12, 2025 – "The School Board will review the final versions of any recommendations to be shared with the public for feedback. The board will vote on the proposal only — and this is not a vote to formally approve the changes. The vote only serves to direct the district to begin its community meetings and gather feedback for the board to consider."
• Sept. 23, 2025 – "The district will share the results of the community meetings and all survey data collected from parents."
• Oct. 28, 2025 – "The School Board will vote to approve the proposed changes, or may direct the superintendent to gather additional input or revise the proposal further."

The school district said the goal is to finish the comprehensive rezoning of high schools and implement changes by the start of the 2026-2027 school year.

“We're looking at a better education for your students,” said Nickell. “Any time that we can keep our class sizes reasonable and we have the facilities to support them and be comfortable, we're doing a disservice to our students if we are not keeping those things in mind."

The district said it will give families the chance to fill out surveys and attend public meetings before anything is brought before the school board for final consideration.