TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — In a field beside Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, Aubrey Williams ignored the cold long enough to help his nephews and their friends practice some football skills.
Even on a random Tuesday, some of them are already thinking about future Sundays.
“We have a few NFL athletes back here,” Williams smiled.
They’re not just learning on the practice field. Right now, they’re also learning in Hillsborough County Public School classrooms. To Williams, a good education is paramount.
For some of them, though, the schools they attend now could change or even close next school year.
That’s concerning to Williams.
“My initial thought is who does it hurt?” he asked. “My nephew and nieces, they walk to school. So let’s just say if that changes, the next best school from them would probably be about four miles from their house.”
That question and concern is shared by others as HCPS studies its school attendance boundaries.
The district hopes to save money by better utilizing its campuses. According to Superintendent Addison Davis, right now, the campuses are not in perfect balance: 24% are overcrowded, but 44% are under-enrolled.
“While we have experienced explosive growth in some areas, other schools remain at lower capacity,” he said in an address posted to YouTube.
Three separate scenarios would try to strike a better balance — in varied capacities — by sending students from the overcrowded schools to the under-enrolled campuses. Depending on the scenario, some schools could be closed altogether to free up space for other district uses. Others could be partially repurposed once their student counts have been reduced.
You can use this map to see how each scenario would impact each school and its enrollment.
In the most impactful scenario, known as scenario three, the district would close seven schools and send 24,000 kids to different schools. It would save the district $163 million.
"We understand that this is going to be very difficult for every one of our family members, moving from one school to the next school where they’ve built relationships, so we have to be very sensitive in this approach," Davis said previously.
The idea is still in its infancy as the district collects feedback from parents. A series of county-wide public input sessions will begin in January. Find the complete list at this link.
“Your thoughts and concerns will help shape this initiative,” Davis said in the address.
Tuesday evening, Temple Terrace City Council and Mayor Andy Ross gathered to share its thoughts and concerns.
One of the scenarios — scenario two — would reduce the student count, or “utilization,” of Greco Middle School from its current 69% to 59%.
“To me, that signals a dying school,” Ross said.
During the meeting, there was no clear consensus on which specific scenario the city would support instead. To the delight of some council members, scenario three would grow the student count at Greco. However, one council member questioned the domino effect that scenario would cause on another local school.
So, Ross and council agreed to author a more generic resolution signifying the city’s support of Greco.
If the resolution passes in a later meeting, it will state the city’s hope that Greco maintains a middle school, maintains its IB program, continues to serve all students who live within Temple Terrace city limits, and maintains at least its current level of utilization.
Ross — who sees the district as a friend, not an enemy — hopes the resolution will make the city’s position on Greco clear as HCPS weighs the future utilization of that school and dozens of others across the county.
Any attendance boundary change will be made by the school board, and if changes are approved, they are expected to take effect for the 2023-24 school year.
