The Hillsborough County School Board discussed plans Tuesday to shutter three schools and redraw attendance zones for several others. Officials want to merge campuses with dwindling student numbers. These changes would take effect next school year, impacting thousands of kids.
Graham Elementary, Madison Middle School, and Pizzo K-8 face closure. A second hearing is scheduled for April 7 before final approval.
District officials said the consolidations would increase “operational efficiency” while allowing “the district to expand opportunities for students by consolidating resources, staff, and programs.”
A Spring 2026 Reassignment Study from the Growth Management team revealed both Graham and Broward Elementary schools were operating below 40% capacity — a stark shortfall. Graham’s 647 students will transfer to Broward Elementary, which boasts a larger capacity.
Madison Middle School runs under 60% capacity, the study showed. Students east of Dale Mabry Highway and north of State Road 60 will shift to Stewart Magnet Middle School, while the remaining Madison students get rezoned for Monroe Middle.
Board member Jessica Vaughn pointed out how officials had done the opposite in 2024. They closed Monroe due to declining enrollment and transferred its students to Madison and Stewart. “We rushed through that, and we didn’t listen to the feedback of the community, so now we’re rushing to undo that,” said Vaughn, according to WUSF.
A steep rent increase by the University of South Florida is forcing Pizzo K-8 to close, board leaders said. The school sits on the USF Tampa campus and operated as a lab school for education majors for about 30 years, serving roughly 900 students.
Rent skyrocketed from $60,000 a year to $555,000 with a 3% annual increase, according to Tampa Bay 28. USF is also charging a one-time parking fee of $1,035,000 and an annual $25,000 security fee to University Police. The total cost for the remainder of the 10-year lease term would be about $8 million.
“I can’t imagine the message that our students are receiving, seeing that the university is giving us what’s called an economic eviction,” said board chair Karen Perez.
Board member Patti Rendon questioned what the closure would mean for teacher development. “This is a sad day in Hillsborough County that one of the largest universities in the state of Florida is not partnering with the seventh largest school district in the country to develop future educators for this country,” said Rendon.
Other proposed boundary changes include moving students from Barrington, Eisenhower, Shields, and Turkey Creek Middle Schools to a new middle school set to open in Wimauma. The proposal also plans to turn Sulphur Springs K-8 into an elementary school and move middle school-aged students to other campuses.