MEDIA RELEASE
Brooksville - On August 24th, the Hernando School District will hold its third community forum as part of the timeline to develop a districtwide rezoning plan for the 2024-25 school year. For Hernando Schools, existing enrollment challenges as well as projected growth of student enrollment has called for district leaders to consider a district rezoning amid a home building boom in the county.
The forum is an opportunity for the members of the District Rezoning Committee to present data, attendance boundary maps and to capture questions and concerns from the community. "Rezoning is a hard conversation for everyone," said John Stratton, Hernando Superintendent. "The residential data, the class size and the transportation challenges may very well indicate a need to rezone but that doesn't make it easier for parents who love their child's school."
Sobered by the current data and future growth projections from the Hernando County Planning & Zoning Dept., the school district embarked on a plan to rezone well ahead of the implementation scheduled for 2024-25 to give parents and the community multiple opportunities to weigh-in on the rezoning proposal and to share how the rezone would impact their family. With each round of public participation, the District's Rezoning Committee met to read each of the hundreds of comments submitted and to consider adjustments to attendance boundaries.
"Our work was built on three priorities - keep neighborhoods together, reduce transportation time and balance enrollment in areas of high residential growth," said Sophia Watson, the district's Director of Adult and Technical Education and the rezoning committee chair . "The rezoning proposal is not final until the school board gives approval in October, we remain open to suggestions or ideas that will help us meet the challenges of a growing community."
Community Forum 3 - August 24th, 6 PM at Central High
Find out more about HCSD's rezoning plan here: https://www.hernandoschools.org/community/rezoning Rezoning FAQ: https://www.hernandoschools.org/community/rezoning