Hillsborough school district celebrates opening of new magnet school, remains focused on crowding and staffing

TAMPA, Fla. - The Hillsborough County school district celebrated the opening of its newest school Tuesday, while continuing to focus on ways to address overcrowding and under-staffing across the county.

District administrators and school board members joined city and county leaders and local families for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Kenneth E. Adum Pre K-8 Magnet School.

The school is the district's only newly-built school opening this year and will include state-of-the-art classrooms, a media center, a gymnasium and an athletic field.

"To bring everyone together on one staff, to me, is kind of like a dream come true," said Principal Scott Weaver, referring to the teachers and faculty he was able to assemble at the school. "I can't wait to lead this group of teachers and see the impact that it's going to have on kids here at Adum."

Superintendent Van Ayres said Adum is part of the ongoing plan to address district-wide overcrowding. Nearly every elementary and middle school around Adum is currently near capacity and expected to increase to up to 115 percent in the next five years, according to the district.

The issue is impacting communities across the county, Ayres said, and constructing new schools while rebuilding some recently-closed older ones will help address the problem.

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"Growth management in school districts has been difficult. We are the seventh-largest school district in the country. We are growing at a rapid rate," Ayres said. "So us keeping up with the demands [of] a number of people moving into Hillsborough County, Tampa is a great place to live. We have to keep building great, beautiful schools like this."

Ayres believes new facilities can also be a draw for teachers; despite 500 vacancies across the county, Adum had only one opening prior to the ribbon-cutting.

The superintendent, meanwhile, believes higher pay would be an even more effective way to lure educators to the Hillsborough school district, whose salaries are lower than some of the surrounding counties. Ayres said he remains hopeful voters will pass a property tax increase referendum in November that would raise teacher salaries.

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"We want to do what's right for our students. Right? And that's what this is about. This referendum is about our students," he said.

Adum is slated for 1,800 students and 120 staff members. During the upcoming school year, it will host students from pre-kindergarten through seventh grade and will expand to include eighth grade in 2025.

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