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Schools propose boundary changes
By BARBARA BEHRENDT © St. Petersburg Times, published November 18, 2000 INVERNESS -- School officials propose moving 200 students from packed Lecanto High School to the district's other two high schools in fall 2001. Last week, they sent out letters to the families in areas that will be affected by the proposed new high school boundaries. Most of those families live in the area east and north of Hernando, east of U.S. 41 N. About 175 high school students in that area now attend Lecanto but would be transferred to Citrus High School under the proposal. Another small pocket of students who live in the mini-farm area east of County Road 495 and north of Dunklin would switch from Lecanto High to Crystal River High School. Officials reported that about half of the 25 students affected in that area already attend Crystal River High because they sought special permission to attend a school out of their regular zone. Public meetings have been slated next week and the week after so the community can ask questions about and learn more details of the proposed rezoning. The first meeting is at 7 p.m. Monday at the Citrus Springs Middle School. A second meeting is slated for 7 p.m. Nov. 27 at Lecanto High School. The rezoning proposal is one part of a multiphase plan to equalize high school populations during the next couple of years while an especially large bubble of high school aged children moves through the schools. When the rezoning is done, officials expect that all three of the county's high schools will be at or above their design capacity. Except for Citrus High, the high schools are already there, said Bonnie Hardiman, director of student services for the district. While the project may look like the district is moving students from one crowded school to another, Hardiman said the district knows that even without any new students coming into the system in the next couple of years, the high schools will be crowded. But when expected growth does happen, all the best estimates point to it happening in Lecanto so that high school needs to have room to take what comes its way. Currently Lecanto High has 1,553 students. Crystal River has 1,284 and Citrus High has 1,383. Without any changes in the boundaries, officials have estimated the Lecanto High population to hit 2,000 by 2003. "What we are trying to do is balance the high school populations in the best way possible for the next few years just to get over that hump," Hardiman said. The advisory/enhancement councils at both Citrus High and Lecanto High schools have already seen the plans. With a minimal impact expected at Crystal River, their council is not expected to review the proposal. "Our responsibility was to propose lines, but lines alone are not going to fully resolve our crowdedness at the high school level," Hardiman said. In addition to rezoning, school officials are also looking at beefing up or expanding programs which provide students educational opportunities off school sites. For example, there is renewed discussion about academies and talk of creating a teaching academy which could draw some high school students off their regular campuses. There are also discussions about expanded work-study opportunities and new partnerships with the Withlacoochee Technical Institute which could take some of the burden off the high school sites. During the last high school rezoning several years ago, some parents were up in arms about the proposed changes. Ironically, some of the same areas near Hernando which were moved at that time from Citrus High School to Lecanto are now being proposed to move back to Citrus. Hardiman said officials were anxious to hear input from those impacted by the changes and she said they are willing to reconsider if people have different ideas of how to make the boundaries work. "We clearly understand that this has an impact on families and that students, as we want them to, become associated with and attached to their school, especially at the high school level," Hardiman said. "If we have a better idea out there that we can consider, then certainly we want to know what that is."
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