Schools

Middle school boundary proposed

Under the plan, Crews Lake would take about 600 kids from other schools.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
Published November 27, 2007

SHADY HILLS - The Pasco County School District wants about 600 students to attend Crews Lake Middle School when it opens next fall.

With a committee's help, officials think they know where the kids will be coming from.

If the group's proposed boundary sticks, all middle school-aged children who attended Mary Giella or Shady Hills elementary schools will be reassigned to Crews Lake, which sits beside Giella Elementary. That translates into about 300 students from River Ridge Middle, 65 from Pine View Middle and 250 from Hudson Middle.

Hudson Middle also would gain about 50 students from Bayonet Point Middle as part of the rezoning, as it picks up the neighborhoods north of State Road 52 that have been assigned to Bayonet Point to this point.

"I do think it's fair," said Bill Hull, a parent who served on the committee. "The people at the district put a lot of effort into this. They really bent over backward to be fair."

Hull noted that the committee tried to keep neighborhoods and communities intact, remain mindful of transportation routes and even take into consideration the feeder patterns into new high schools that will open in 2009 and 2010.

All the while, he added, the group also focused on easing crowding at the nearby middle schools, River Ridge being the most over capacity at about 123 percent.

"You can't make everyone happy," Hull said. "I think probably this proposal is going to work out the best for everybody."

No complaints have come to the district yet. But parents will have their chance. Some might not want to move. Others might want to switch schools.

But desire alone isn't enough, district planning director Chris Williams said.

"A lot of folks can say, 'Well, I think this line ought to be over here,'" Williams said. "I tell them to present a solution ... that meets the criteria."

Past committees have made changes to their boundary recommendations based on public comment, as has the School Board when ultimately voting on the zones.

An official map of the proposed Crews Lake zone, along with a letter from the superintendent, should be sent home to affected schools in the week before winter vacation, Williams said. The public will get its say at a hearing scheduled for Jan. 10.

Plans to draw the boundary for Veterans Elementary in Wesley Chapel are not as far along.

That committee is scheduled to meet again later this week. It likely will affect students at Quail Hollow and Seven Oaks elementary schools.

The School Board is set to approve the boundaries in February.

Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at solochek@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4614. For more education news, visit the Gradebook at blogs.tampabay.com/schools.

Have an opinion?

The public will have its chance to speak out on the Crews Lake Middle School boundary at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at the River Ridge Performing Arts Center. The School Board will vote on the proposal in February.

[Last modified November 26, 2007, 23:01:29]