Hillsborough Schools Eye Closures, Mergers

0:00Hillsboro County School Board in Tampa is eyeing the closure of three schools to tighten up their budget and operations. They're looking at Pito K-8, Graham Elementary, and Madison Middle, all hit hard by Lowen Roman. This comes after last month's vote to push forward, and today's the second hearing before a final call. Pito's dealing with skyrocketing rent at its University of South Florida spot, jumping from $60,000 a year to over 550. While student numbers keep dropping, Graham and Broward Elementary are both running under 40% capacity, so the plan is to merge zones and send kids to Broward, Madison's under 60% too. With students shifting to Monroe Middle and Stewart Magnum Middle, board members like Nadia Combs and Henry Washington say it's tough but necessary. Blending a shrinking population as families move out of inner city spots. They feel for the communities but see no quick fix, warning this could just be the start of more closures down the line.

1:02Officials point out it's not the school's failing, kindergarten classes are getting smaller overall, a district-wide trend. They're also eyeing rezoning for Greco, Jennings, Sly, and Stewart Middle to feed into young Middle Magnum, all aimed at smarter resource use for. Taxpayers and families, the meeting kicks off at 4 p.m. today with any changes not hitting until the 2027-28 school year. Keep an eye on how this shakes out for local kids and budgets. I'm Cory with the story. That's your Tampa Bay News today update. AI powered and always on.