High school boundaries are changing in Polk County due to attendance shifts and population growth throughout the district.
Stephanie Yocum, president of Polk Education Association, said all schools need to be rezoned, not just high schools.
“The reason why it hasn’t come up is because elected school board members don’t want the heat. Comprehensive rezone is painful. It’s painful for communities,” she said.
Painful, she said, but necessary.
In a statement, Polk County Public Schools said “comprehensive rezoning” will “determine how to adjust for the most efficient use of available resources, and balance enrollment.”
According to a presentation by the school district, Tenoroc High School, for example, is 62% full without portables, but Haines City High School is at 127% utilization.
“You have to be able to alleviate those outskirts of those zones into Tenoroc or into Lake Region to make sure that we’re fully utilizing those buildings and then give relief to those other schools,” she said.
Yocum said overcrowded areas are on the eastern and western sides, near Orlando and Tampa, while some schools toward the middle are underutilized.
“They’re short-staffed. I did see that in middle school, my daughter had it sometimes, a bunch of substitutes. They didn’t have enough teachers,” said Ruth Santiago, a Lakeland mother.
The school board will be voting on the proposed boundary changes next week, with community forums and public hearings to follow.
“The more engaged our community can be in this, the better we can find a balance of what parents want, what our community needs and really what our district needs as a whole,” Yocum said.
A final vote may be held by October with the new boundaries implemented the following school year.
As for current students, a statement from the school district states current students will be able to stay at their high schools without issue and, possibly, their siblings will be able to attend as well, when feasible.