Rezoning changes for Pasco County Schools

Rezoning+changes+for+Pasco+County+Schools

As of December 2, 2016, the school district officials and committee of Pasco County parents updated the rezoning boundaries for Wesley Chapel-area middle and high schools.

The biggest change is the Meadow Pointe subdivision will now stay attending Wiregrass Ranch High School (WRHS) and Dr. John Long Middle School (JLMS) whereas before only the front of Meadow Pointe would have stayed. Instead, the Seven Oaks subdivision will be rezoned to Wesley Chapel High school and Weightman Middle school.

Both neighborhoods make up the majority of the students that feed into the overcrowding at WRHS and JLMS. It was inevitable to not have one of the two relocated to help with this issue.

There are as many parents happy as there are furious with this change. Local parents are continuously trying to fight this and demand the superintendent to keep their kids in the schools they are in.

The only students not affected by this is the Seven Oaks community will be 2017-18 seniors who are grandfathered into the current school.

December 20th is the first public hearing on the re-zoning and Superintendent Kurt Browning said that the map recommended by the panel may still see added changes by him.

Superintendent Kurt Browning made the following statement in the Tampa Bay Times, “At the end of the day, the superintendent has a responsibility to make a sound recommendation to the board,” Browning said. “It would be disingenuous of me to tell you absolutely I’m not going to move more students. I truly don’t know yet.”

UPDATE since publishing 12/14/16: Superintendent Kurt Browning ended up selecting a different map for the east side of the county, foregoing the recommendation of the committee. This plan sends a portion of the Meadow Pointe subdivision to Wesley Chapel High and Weightman Middle schools.

Map 13 that Superintendent is recommending