County's Largest High School To Be Named Sumner High School

RUSKIN, FL — After receiving more than 1,600 school name recommendations, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to name the district’s new high school in south Hillsborough County Jule F. Sumner High School.

Sumner High School is scheduled to open in fall 2020. It will be the first new high school to open in more than 10 years in Hillsborough County.

Jule Sumner was an early pioneer in Hillsborough County. He was born in 1884 in Kissimmee and his family moved to Hillsborough County in 1907. Ten years later, Sumner bought 240 acres to start his own cattle ranch near Boyette Road. Over the years, Sumner and his descendants played an integral role in Hillsborough County's cattle industry.

Under construction on the north side of County Road 672 (Balm Road), east of U.S. 301, across from Ayersworth and Mirabella subdivision, the 238,268-square-foot, two-story Sumner High School, designed by Harvard Jolly Architecture, will be the largest high school in Hillsborough County.

The $75 million school is being funded with school impact fees paid by south county developers.

The new school, constructed to accommodate 2,905 students, is intended to provide relief to south county's high schools that are already at or near capacity, including East Bay, Lennard, Newsome and Durant high schools (see proposed attendance boundaries). With more development planned in south county, thousands of students are expected to enter the school system during the next three to five years.

Last month, Dave Brown was named the principal of the new high school. Brown was most recently the principal of Strawberry Crest High School, the last new high school built in Hillsborough County in 2009.

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