Progress is underway for the new Hillsborough County school set to relieve overcrowding at Newsome, Durant, East Bay and Lennard highs.
Hillsborough County officials, community leaders and construction experts met at the school site, located at 10650 C.R. 672 in Riverview, last month to officially break ground on the project and share artist renderings of the school with those in attendance.
“Construction is booming in South Hillsborough County with thousands of students expected to be entering our schools over the next three to five years,” said Hillsborough County Public School’s Tanya Arja. “The high schools in that area are already near or over capacity.”
The new school, currently known as “High School TTT” for planning purposes, will cost an estimated $70 million to build, funded by three years of impact fee collections. Enrollment is expected to reach 3,000 students at the 239,000 sq. ft. building, which is planned to open in August 2020. This is the first high school to be built in the area in 10 years.
Most of the students who will attend the school will come from East Bay and Lennard High Schools, but the school board is also considering minor adjustments to the southern attendance boundaries of Durant and Newsome high schools.
“Currently, Lennard High School has 24 portables on campus,” said Arja. “The school is designed for 2,500 students and currently has an enrollment of more than 3,100. In addition, more than 900 students are projected to move into Lennard’s boundaries in the next few years.”
East Bay has similar overcrowding issues despite an additional wing that opened in August, 2017, which increased the school’s capacity by 500.
According to Arja, only 10 Newsome High students would be affected if the board approves the proposed attendance boundaries. The new school will be located on the north side of C.R. 672 (Balm Rd.), east of U.S. Hwy. 301.
Residents interested in learning more about the attendance boundary changes are invited to attend the Hillsborough County School Board meeting on January 15 at 901 E. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa. For more information, visit www.sdhc.k12.fl.us or call 272-4608. To submit questions or comments, email boundaries@sdhc.k12.fl.us.
