Pasco County officials propose converting Pasco campuses to K–8; board vote set for Feb. 17

Pasco County School District leaders presented a plan at a workshop to convert Pasco Elementary and Pasco Middle into a single Pasco K–8 campus and to phase Lacoochee Elementary into a K–8 model, officials said. The district said the changes are driven primarily by academic goals — continuity, rigor and behavior supports — rather than cost savings.

"This isn't about cost saving measures," said the Superintendent (unnamed in the transcript). "This is really driven by a need to increase academic rigor, academic opportunity, consistency, and behavior." The district described local successes with K–8 campuses and said it expects to bring similar benefits to East Pasco neighborhoods.

District staff proposed beginning Pasco K–8 in the 2026–27 school year and said the board will vote on both conversions on February 17. If approved, Pasco would open in August 2026; Lacoochee would add middle grades in successive years under a phased plan that would add sixth grade in 2027–28, seventh grade the following year and eighth grade the year after, aiming to reach a full pre-K–8 configuration by 2029–30.

Administrators described the two Pasco campuses as a multi-building site split by Florida Avenue that offers flexibility but also creates logistical challenges. Pasco Elementary was built in 1954 and renovated in 2016 (about 10 acres); the district reported roughly 570 students there now, about 80% of capacity. Pasco Middle dates to 1946 with later renovations, sits on close to 20 acres and serves about 761 students, roughly 86% of capacity. Lacoochee Elementary is about 20 acres, was built in 1971 and has historically enrolled about 285–287 students, roughly 44% of its capacity, the district said.

The district emphasized choice for families: students zoned to Pasco Middle would still have options to remain at a phased Lacoochee K–8, stay at Pasco Middle, or apply to Pasco's Cambridge program in high school. Staff said current fifth graders have already submitted course cards, so movement in year one would be limited by those choices.

Board members raised several operational concerns during the workshop. One asked whether an initial sixth-grade cohort of roughly 45 students could support electives, honors courses or algebra; staff pointed to small-cohort models elsewhere, including Sulphur Springs K–8 in Hillsborough County, and said the district plans to build an honors-focused program and have teachers teach multiple grade levels where appropriate. "We will duplicate that in a different program at Lacoochee," a district presenter said. The district also said it will allocate funds to help teachers obtain any additional certifications required before the K–8 model launches.

Athletics and transportation were flagged as issues. Staff noted some K–8 campuses use intramural athletic models rather than traditional interscholastic teams and warned that transportation and dismissal timing could create barriers if Lacoochee students were to travel to Pasco Middle for after-school sports.

Officials said they have begun preliminary conversations with city staff about traffic and safety near the Pasco campus but have no formal plans for road closures; the district emphasized existing crossing-guard arrangements and discussed keeping students on one side of campus while staff move between buildings. Both cafeterias on the Pasco campus would remain in use under the proposed configuration, staff said.

Board members and community members reported largely positive early feedback; some parents of outgoing fifth graders expressed concern about losing a one-year middle-school transition at the present Pasco Middle. District leaders said the model is community-driven and will likely be adjusted after year one as the schools develop their identities.

Next steps: the district will present formal conversion proposals to the board for a vote on February 17. The workshop closed without a formal vote.