{"id":276970,"date":"2026-05-19T18:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/276970\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T18:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:34:08","slug":"ocps-approves-targeted-rezoning-affecting-apopka-area-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/276970\/","title":{"rendered":"OCPS approves targeted rezoning affecting Apopka-area schools\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) has\u00a0approved targeted rezoning changes<\/a>\u00a0affecting\u00a0a small number of students in the Apopka area for the 2026-27 school year\u00a0\u2014 in what\u00a0District 7\u00a0School Board member Melissa Byrd<\/a>\u00a0described\u00a0the changes as a targeted\u00a0\u201ccleanup\u201d\u00a0of existing attendance boundaries rather than a large-scale rezoning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The OCPS School Board approved the changes during a May 12 public hearing following several weeks of community meetings and workshops. According to district rezoning materials,\u00a0the changes affect portions of the Kelly Park, Wolf\u00a0Lake\u00a0and Zellwood school areas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Byrd said a social media post wrongly warned parents that\u00a0\u201ca huge\u00a0rezoning\u00a0is coming,\u201d\u00a0when in fact the changes affect only two neighborhoods and a\u00a0relatively small\u00a0number of students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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She said she has not received emails or other concerns from families about the targeted rezoning, noting that affected households were notified and had opportunities for public input at multiple school board meetings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0a targeted\u00a0rezoning, which means that it affects a small number of students,\u00a0and we do those for different reasons every now and then,\u201d Byrd said in a\u00a0Monday\u00a0interview with The Apopka Chief. \u201cSometimes we just have to go in and clean things up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike the large relief\u00a0school rezonings that can shift hundreds of students to newly opened campuses, the changes were designed as a small\u00a0er\u00a0adjustment to clean up split neighborhoods, improve feeder patterns, and make better use of available school capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to OCPS rezoning documents, one change will move students from portions of the Winding Meadows and Westridge Park\u00a0areas\u00a0so neighborhoods feeding into multiple schools would instead attend the same campuses together.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In all,\u00a0105 students will be reassigned under the targeted rezoning\u00a0\u2013\u00a092 elementary students and 13 middle school students\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a fraction of the numbers typically involved in major relief\u00a0school rezonings,\u00a0according to Byrd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made it so these two\u00a0neighborhoods,\u00a0all the kids went to the same school,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0said. \u201cIt relieved a little bit of a couple elementary schools and the middle school in Wolf Lake that were a little overcrowded.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The changes reassign students within two split neighborhoods involving Zellwood Elementary, Wolf Lake Elementary, Wolf Lake Middle and Kelly Park K-8,\u00a0so\u00a0students living in the same neighborhoods attend the same schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Byrd said the adjustments were partly driven by school capacity concerns.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cZellwood is getting a little more overcrowded, which is a good thing,\u201d\u00a0she said, noting the school had been\u00a0underenrolled\u00a0for years.\u00a0\u201cWolf Lake Elementary was under capacity, so it had room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

District projections included in the rezoning presentation show Kelly Park School K\u20118\u00a0operating\u00a0below its permanent\u00a0FISH (Florida Inventory of School Houses) capacity, while Wolf Lake Middle School\u00a0remains\u00a0above capacity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

FISH is a state system used to measure a school\u2019s permanent student capacity based on factors such as classroom space and facility design. OCPS uses permanent FISH capacity figures when evaluating enrollment trends,\u00a0overcrowding\u00a0and potential rezoning needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Byrd also said the district considered transportation efficiency when reviewing the changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to move kids if it\u2019s going to add a bus route,\u201d\u00a0she said, adding that the approved adjustments may eliminate one bus route because some students would attend schools\u00a0located\u00a0closer to their neighborhoods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Teresa Sargeant has been with The Apopka Chief for over 10 years.<\/p>\n

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