Plans for new Tampa schools unveiled; school board to decide fate

TAMPA - The Hillsborough County School district gathered on Thursday to unveil plans for two new schools at the site of Stewart Middle Magnet and Just Elementary.

District leaders released two sets of renderings for a new elementary and middle school. The school board would have to approve the plan and choose one of the designs.

"It's about our community working with us," said Superintendent Van Ayres. "This was the process we went through and working with our community to get to this point today. So it's really a it's an example of collaboration with the community."

The announcement marks a change in direction for the district, which last year decided to repurpose Just Elementary School and move the students to other schools. It was a controversial decision that upset a lot of families in West Tampa.

Both designs call for two state-of-the-art schools connected in the middle by a shared cafeteria. The schools, which are named after pioneering black Tampa men, would carry on their longstanding names.

"It says that our history matters. It says that the two names that sit on top of these things will definitely continue to live on," said Hillsborough County NAACP President Yvette Lewis.

If the school board signs off on the plan, Ayres expects construction of the new buildings to be completed for the 2027-28 school year.

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