Pinellas is considering its first school boundary changes in 14 years

As the Pinellas County School District has faced declining enrollment for years, there hasn’t been much need to reset its attendance boundaries for more than a decade.

One of four new affordable apartment complexes planned in the county is poised to change that trend.

Allora Largo, which is expected to add 336 units to the community adjacent to Largo Middle School, poses the possibility of adding too many students to Southern Oak Elementary School when it opens in late 2025 or early 2026, district planner Marshall said Touchton told the school board Tuesday.

Southern Oak is scheduled to merge with neighboring Walsingham Elementary into a K-8 campus next year to more effectively use the two low-capacity schools.

Touchton recommended redrawing Southern Oak’s boundary so that the two easternmost neighborhood grids would instead serve Fuguitt Elementary School. Fuguitt, built for about 750 students, is about half full.

Touchton said Largo Middle and Largo High offer plenty of space for students living in the apartments.

Superintendent Kevin Hendrick told the board the rezoning was the district’s first in 14 years. Because of the population decline, he said, the district has been able to add new developments to existing schools and even close and consolidate some campuses.

The district has also relied more heavily on magnet and other selective programs to generate enrollment shifts.

That change, which must go through two more board hearings before final consideration in January, will allow the board to apply its recently unused policy as other new housing projects come to the county, Hendrick said.

Board member Caprice Edmond asked how often that would likely happen. She pointed to several redevelopment projects in south Pinellas, the area she represents.

“Do you think the current capacity can accommodate them?” asked Edmond.

Touchton said only one project caught his attention and may require rezoning. It is a complex that will be built near Azalea Elementary, Azalea Middle and Boca Ciega High Schools.

Each of these zoned schools has sufficient capacity to handle the influx of students, he said. “Light.”

The elementary and middle schools are at just over 50% capacity, while the high school is below 50% capacity.