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Schools

300 Durant students likely can stay put

An idea for transfers to Bloomingdale appears dead. Attendance zones for two new high schools remain fuzzy.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published December 16, 2005

Just as fast as they proposed it, Hillsborough school officials are backing away from a plan to relieve crowding at Durant High School by shuffling about 300 students to Bloomingdale High School.

Parents didn't like the idea. And administrators now fear Bloomingdale won't have room.

"The reasoning was not sound," said School Board member Jennifer Faliero, noting that angry parents have stopped her in stores to complain. "That was just a short-term fix."

No decisions are final yet, said Steve Ayers, who oversees pupil assignment. Students and parents won't have definite answers until after winter vacation.

That uncertainty extends to the proposed boundaries for two high schools opening in east Hillsborough in August. Although the community has seen a proposed map, school officials may adjust the attendance zones for Spoto High in west Brandon and Lennard High in Ruskin.

But it appears that about 300 Durant students - rising freshman and sophomores - will not have to change schools next year. The change would affect neighborhoods in the Buckhorn area.

Many of these families already were shuffled from Bloomingdale High to Durant High when Newsome High opened in Lithia in 2003, Ayers said.

Some were outraged by the prospect of another change.

Three years ago, Nancy Fox waited out the last round of changes before purchasing a house in the Bent Tree north subdivision, where her three children could attend Durant High.

Last week, she heard distress echo around her neighborhood when school officials floated a plan to move them out of Durant. Friends called with stories about high school children in tears.

"It makes it difficult for families trying to pick and choose a school," Fox said. "At any time, things can change."

Hillsborough still needs a plan to relieve crowding at Durant, where more than 2,800 students are packed into a school built for about 2,400. But parents and school officials say the school is managing well.

An additional classroom wing is one option. Durant has the land to expand, even though the media center and cafeteria may not be able to handle more students, Ayers said.

The district is looking to build two more high schools in east Hillsborough, Faliero said. One would serve communities north of State Road 60. The other would respond to growth in Lithia and Riverview.

"The sprawl is coming this way, and we want to stay on top of this one," Faliero said.

Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 15, 2005, 10:05:12]