Hillsborough County Is Closing 3 Schools and Redrawing Boundaries: What Valrico Families Need to Know

The Hillsborough County School Board has approved a significant round of school closures and boundary changes for the 2026-2027 school year. Three schools -- Graham Elementary, Madison Middle, and Pizzo K-8 -- will close their doors, and students will be redistributed to nearby campuses. Additional boundary adjustments will shift students between several middle schools in the southern part of the county.

Here's what happened, what it means for families in Valrico, Bloomingdale, and FishHawk, and what you should do next.

Which Schools Are Closing?

The school board voted on April 8, 2026, to shut down three campuses:

• Graham Elementary -- Students will be reassigned to Broward Elementary, which has more capacity.
• Madison Middle School -- Closure approved to address under-enrollment.
• Pizzo K-8 -- The combined campus will close, with students moved to other schools in the area.

The district cited declining enrollment and operational costs as the primary reasons. All three schools were running under capacity, and maintaining buildings, staff, and programs across underutilized campuses was stretching the budget thin.

What About Boundary Changes?

Beyond the closures, the district approved boundary adjustments affecting middle school zones:

• Students from Barrington, Eisenhower, Shields, and Turkey Creek Middle Schools may be reassigned to a new middle school slated to open in Wimauma in August 2027.
• Students east of Dale Mabry Highway and north of SR-60 will be reassigned to Stewart Magnet Middle School.
• Sulphur Springs K-8 will convert to an elementary-only school, with middle school students redistributed.

How Does This Affect Valrico?

The three school closures are all in other parts of the county -- none are in the Valrico, Bloomingdale, or FishHawk area. That's the good news.

However, the boundary discussions around middle schools in the southern part of the county are worth watching. Turkey Creek Middle School serves students in parts of the Riverview and southern Brandon corridor, and any adjustments to its boundaries could ripple into nearby zones.

For now, the core Valrico school zones remain intact:

• Elementary: Alafia Elementary, Cimino Elementary, Buckhorn Elementary, Nelson Elementary
• Middle: Burns Middle, Barrington Middle, Turkey Creek Middle
• High: Bloomingdale High, Newsome High, Durant High

If your student is currently zoned for any of these schools, nothing changes in this round of adjustments.

Why This Keeps Happening

Hillsborough County Public Schools is the seventh-largest district in the country with more than 220,000 students. But enrollment patterns have shifted dramatically over the past decade. Population growth has been concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the county -- areas like Riverview, Wimauma, and South Shore -- while older neighborhoods closer to Tampa have seen enrollment declines.

The result: overcrowded schools in fast-growing areas and half-empty buildings elsewhere. The district is trying to right-size by closing underutilized schools, building new ones where growth is happening (like the new middle school in Wimauma), and adjusting boundaries to balance enrollment.

What About the New Middle School?

On the other end of the spectrum, the school board voted in November 2025 to build a new middle school in Wimauma, next to the recently opened Aquilla J. Morgan High School on West Lake Drive. It's scheduled to open in August 2027. Southern Hillsborough County hasn't built a new middle school in 15 years, and the growth in that corridor made it necessary.

Students from Barrington, Eisenhower, Shields, and Turkey Creek Middle Schools could be rezoned to the new campus, depending on final boundary decisions.

What Should Valrico Parents Do?

1. Check your current zone. Visit the Hillsborough County Public Schools website and use the school locator tool with your home address.
2. Watch for updates. The board will continue to refine boundary plans through summer 2026. Sign up for district email alerts.
3. Attend public meetings. The district holds community input sessions before making final boundary decisions. Your voice matters -- especially if you're in a zone that could be affected.
4. Talk to your kids. If there's any chance of a school change, having an honest conversation early helps more than surprises in August.

School zones are one of the biggest factors in home values across Valrico and Bloomingdale. These closures and boundary changes don't directly affect us right now, but staying informed is how you stay ahead. We'll keep updating this page as the district releases new information.