- September 16, 2024
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Volusia County Schools is looking to rezone 155 students to Tomoka Elementary.
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, during a Volusia County School Board workshop, district staff presented proposed school attendance boundary changes for the 2025-2026 school year. The district is looking to make attendance zones contiguous, where possible. With Holly Hill School reverting back to an elementary school from its previous K-8 format, and Tomoka Elementary's recent rebuild adding more student stations, students from Pine Trail and Pathways Elementary are being looked at to be rezoned.
"We are continually looking in our division to level our schools and make sure that we're using our facilities appropriately, and to the level that they're built to be used," District Chief Operating Officer Patty Corr said. "So when we have an overcrowding situation, or an underutilization situation, we look to balance that."
According to district data, the projected enrollment for Tomoka for the 2025-2026 school year is 563 students, though as of Sept. 4, the school reported an enrollment of 643 students.
Of the 155 students that may be rezoned, 82 are currently zoned for Pathways and reside in neighborhoods south of West Granada Boulevard and in between Chelsea Place Avenue and Williamson Boulevard. The other 73 are zoned for Pine Trail and reside in neighborhoods south of West Granada Boulevard and north of Division Avenue, between South Old Kings Road and U.S. 1. This figure also includes those residing in the Fox Hollow neighborhood and in a section north of Granada Boulevard and east of U.S. 1.
The addition of those students would bring Tomoka's projected attendance for the 2025-2026 school year to 718.
The district is also proposing 129 students living south of Division Avenue, between U.S. 1 and South Nova Road, be rezoned from Pine Trail to Holly Hill School, and for 55 students living northeast of the I-95 and U.S. 1 interchange be rezoned from Pathways to Pine Trail.
All in all, 147 students zoned for Pine Trail and 137 students zoned for Pathways are being proposed to be rezoned to other schools. Still, Pine Trail and Pathways will remain overcapacity, operating above their level of service. Currently, the district is reporting Pine Trail's level of service to be at 127%; with the rezoning it'll fall to 108%. Pathways is at 140%, and will decrease to 118%.
With the rezonings, Tomoka will have 91% level of service and Holly Hill School will be at 77%.
Rising fifth graders won't be affected by the proposed rezonings.
VCS Planning Coordinator Robert Voges said that Pathways has a building addition in the works to help with capacity. But, he acknowledged future growth may result in further boundary changes, and a new school, down the line.
"Unfortunately with growth, I don't think this is an endgame," he said. "I think it's a process."
School Board member Carl Persis said that when looking at the school boundary map, it may seem strange that students were zoned to Pine Trail from neighborhoods far away, but that when the school opened in 1982, there were no neighborhoods built yet near the school. A lot has changed since then, he said, and it has yet to be addressed.
"Of course, lot has changed since then, but that's why," Persis said. "It never has been addressed until now. I think it's about time."
The board also expressed concerns about rezoning ESE students, and ensuring that if they are, resources also follow. That happened this school year, School Board Ruben Colon said.
"It was easy to say, 'Oh, we're going to move the program from here to there,' but the school had vacancies, so the teachers that we thought were going to go to the next school and help that specific program decided to stay there, because they can," Colon said. "... I think we need to be very cautious with that."
When the district rezoned students on the west side, Colon said, School Choice variances also "defeated the purpose." Variances are usually granted based on curriculum and unique conditions, such as children attending the school in which a parent is employed or when their zoned placement creates a severe hardship, according to the district website.
School Board member Anita Burnette asked about capacity at Ormond Beach Elementary. District staff reported they are over capacity at 362 students.
Over 100 students, Voges said, are on a variance.
School Board Chair Jamie Haynes asked why the district allowed that to happen.
"That school is in a very tight area," Voges said. "There's some very difficult conversations that are going to have to take place and part of that is going to be building a new school."
Persis said Ormond Beach Elementary situation needs to be included in the rezoning issue, but it will need more careful consideration.
