School District Boundaries, Improvement Plans Approved

Members of the Pasco County School Board yesterday unanimously approved a new map that outlines the five members’ districts.

The new boundaries represent a slight variation on the old map. The adjustments were made to meet the requirements of redistricting. Boundary lines for members’ districts are redrawn every 10 years to accommodate growth and shifts in population that are evidenced in the U.S. Census.

Under the new plan, each of the five board members have slightly changed districts. Steve Luikart’s District 5 and Alison Crumbley’s District 4 still cover the majority of West Pasco.

The Land O’ Lakes area now has four board members instead of one. The community now falls into Joanne Hurley’s District 2 and Cynthia Armstrong’s District 1. Luikart and Crumbley also each have a piece of the community in their districts. Prior to redistricting, Land O’ Lakes was entirely in Hurley’s district.

The new districts all have roughly the same number of residents represented. The largest remains Hurley’s District 2 with 93,203 people. Crumbley’s District 4 is a close second with 93,054. The other three districts all have just under 93,000 residents.

The board held a public hearing on the new district lines, but no one chose to speak.

Board Member Expresses Concern About Document Overload

Board members also approved the district’s school improvement plans for the year. These plans represent individual strategies spelled out by each of the county’s schools to provide continuous improvements on campuses.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, board members were supplied with documentation from all of the county’s schools that outlined their individual plans for the year. The plans are required by state law to serve as a “living document that guides the implementation of strategies and the monitoring of effectiveness of strategies at the school,” according to school district documentation.

This year’s packet of school improvement plans included hundreds of pages, which gave rise to a concern from Crumbley who asked about an extension so she could have more time to read through the presented information.

“Did you get through all (of) that,” Crumbley asked other board members.

“It did take quite a bit of time,” agreed Hurley.

Despite Crumbley’s request for an extension, the board was told it had state deadlines to meet with the approval.

“I just don’t want to be like Congress that doesn’t read the bills,” said Crumbley.

Approval of the plans passed unanimously.

Luikart asked staff to provide the plans earlier next year.