Pasco schools to open elementary choice application window

Pasco County families seeking to send their children to schools other than the ones serving their neighborhoods will have 10 days beginning Jan. 21 to complete their applications.

They’ll have more options than ever before, as the district launches the Cambridge Programme at Northwest Elementary in Hudson and reconfigures its gifted offerings. Next year, the selection is slated to grow even more.

As parents consider their choices for 2020-21, one group could find itself in a quandary.

The School Board might have decided to shut down Hudson Elementary by then -- that vote comes later tonight -- but any effort to reassign those 526 children to other campuses will not be complete. That action, if necessary, is not expected to take place until April.

School district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said the system intends to reopen choice applications to families affected by any such changes afterward, as it has done following other rezoning moves. She added that parents still could file choice requests during the Jan. 21-31 period, while awaiting news on where their children might be assigned, rather than waiting.

The winter application period includes open enrollment to schools with available seats, as well as opportunities to get into magnet and other programs. Waiting until spring could mean more limited options, as seats fill.

Anyone who applies during the January time frame is supposed to learn of the decision between Feb. 25 and March 5.

Visit the district’s website for more information on its school choice program.