Hillsborough school board approves boundary changes, names interim superintendent after Addison Davis resigns

Following last week’s surprise announcement, Hillsborough County's school board has named an interim superintendent to take place of Addison Davis.

Van Ayres was named the interim superintendent for one year at Tuesday's special board meeting to discuss and vote on Davis' replacement. Ayres is currently the chief of strategic planning and partnership with the school district. 

Pictured: Van Ayres, Hillsborough County schools' new interim superintendent. 

Thr former Hillsborough Superintendent announced he was stepping away from the district after just three years at the helm. According to School Board Chair Nadia Combs, Davis will stay on through mid-July, then will be on hand to help with the transition to the interim superintendent for 90 days.

"A lot of times you have a superintendent who maybe they don’t leave in great terms and so you don’t have that cohesiveness of us working together, so I think that’s a really important factor that we’re going to be able to work together and that he’s going to be able to guide that person," Combs told reporters last week. "At the end of the day, whoever gets hired, it’s going to be their vision."

Part of Davis’ vision, and perhaps his most lasting legacy, also received final approval from the board during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting.

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In a 4-3 vote, the board voted to approve the massive overhaul of school boundaries that will affect some 15,000 students at 103 schools across the district. 

"So we have to be as an organization fiscally and operationally responsible. And that boundary recommendation, I agree 100%," Ayres said at the meeting.

The redistricting plan has been a year-long undertaking that’s gone through several iterations and tense meetings with parents. It will likely be Davis’ most lasting legacy in Hillsborough County.

Davis says the plan will cut down on inefficiencies by more evening spreading the student population among schools, increasing attendance in some, while alleviating over-crowding in others.

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A handful of schools with dwindling populations will close and either be repurposed or partially repurposed. Some students in growing parts of Hillsborough County will be re-zoned to new schools set to open in the coming years. 

Davis says the new boundaries will:

• Reduce the number of very over- (110 percent or greater) and very under- (under 60 percent) utilized schools from 23 to 2.
• Increase the number of schools in the well-utilized range from 67 to 80.
• Reduce the number of schools under 60 percent utilization from 13 to 0.
• Reduce the number of previously impacted students from 24,000 to 15,277.
• Reduce the number of previously impacted schools from 126 to 103.
• Reduce distance from school by 32,959 miles.
• Reduce annual expenditures by $13,488,217.
• Reduce annual transportation reoccurring costs by $4,464,297.

The changes would begin in the 2024-25 school year.