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School Boundaries Meeting Set

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

cpastor@tampatrib.com

Published: November 12, 2008

NORTHDALE - Families tonight can learn how district school officials draw student attendance boundaries, but they will not see the new boundaries for Steinbrenner High School.

The informational meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Gaither High School cafeteria, 16200 N. Dale Mabry Highway.

The Hillsborough County school district is working with Tampa firm SeerAnalytics to develop a methodology for making boundary decisions. The approach should factor in transportation costs and diversity when assigning students. SeerAnalytics last year offered an analysis when district officials considered boundaries for Smith Middle School, which opened in August in Citrus Park.

Steinbrenner High School is scheduled to open next year off Lutz-Lake Fern Road. The district will shuffle students from other high schools to fill the new school and ease crowding at others.

It could affect some schools directly, such as Gaither, Sickles and Freedom, and others indirectly. If enough Sickles students move to Steinbrenner, for example, Sickles could accept some students from Alonso, which is packed.

Principals spread word of tonight's meeting to parents of students at Alonso, Sickles, Gaither and Freedom high schools, and their feeder middle schools.

At the meeting the district and SeerAnalytics representatives will review procedures they are using to establish attendance boundaries and answer questions from parents and other community members.

The district wants to make the boundary process consistent and open to the public, after taking criticism in 2006 when it attempted to move more than 1,000 children among northwestern elementary schools. Parents protested the late notice they received and questioned the data the district used.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503.

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