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Some Parents Dismayed With Proposed School Boundaries

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 30, 2009

PLANT CITY The addition of Strawberry Crest High School will definitely be welcomed as all east Hillsborough schools are operating over capacity.

The drawing of boundary lines to accommodate the new school, however, has created a ruckus for some families who will be affected directly by the change.

"The boundaries are still under review," said Steven D. Ayers, the school district's director of community and parent relations. "Any comments and requests will be presented to the school board Feb. 10 for their consideration."

About 350 parents, students and teachers attended a Jan. 26 meeting at Tomlin Middle School to discuss boundary changes needed with the addition of Strawberry Crest.

Durant, Armwood, and Plant City high schools are exceeding capacity, with Plant City at 120 percent, Ayers said.

Strawberry Crest High School, under construction near Interstate 4 and McIntosh Road, off Joe Newsome Road, will open in August. During the first year, the school will not have a senior class. At the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, after the senior class is added, Strawberry Crest expects to have 1,602 students.

"In August, when Strawberry Crest opens, Armwood High will be at 75 percent capacity," Ayers said. "Durant will be at 77 percent and Plant City at 88 percent."

Barbara Knox, a teacher at Burney Elementary, has a daughter at Tomlin Middle School who was expecting to attend Durant High School, where her sister graduated. The addition of Strawberry Crest to the mix has changed that.

"We are curious to see which school she will attend," Knox said. "I think she will be happy to go to a brand new school, but I'm sure some of her friends she goes to school with now will go on to a different high school."

Howard Randolph said he has children attending Durant High School who would be forced by the proposed boundaries to attend Plant City High.

"These two schools are rivals," Randolph said. "It won't be easy to change from one school to another. I think you should leave the attending students alone."

Randolph's comments received a round of applause.

Joe Weaver, an Armwood parent, said he lives so close to the border between Armwood and the new high school, he can't tell from the county maps which school his children will attend.

"The boundary maps they published aren't legible," Weaver said. "And I like Armwood. I know what that school is like. I don't want them to change, even if I have to drive them there myself."

Ayers said some students will be able to stay in the school where they are, rather than abide by the new boundaries. But they will have to make that request to the school district. There is also a rule that says if a student attends a school outside the normal boundaries, no school bus transportation will be provided.

Maps of the proposed boundaries are at http://classsize.mysdhc.org/.

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