Best School District In Tampa Bay/Sarasota (East Lake, Oldsmar: universities, prices)

[SarasotaBound1]

Originally Posted by algia

Well, I would never understand why you'd want to spend so much time driving, those are hours of your life you'll never see again!...and not in respect of going to the beach or other entertainment things...but why be in a car that long if you don't have too?

"Top Notch" and "Education" in Florida don't go hand in hand...good school + parent watch/help with homework/provide many resources makes up for a good education...if you expect the school to do everything, you're going to be disappointed. (But that is everywhere not just here). If I was a student, I would hate it to have to sit in the car all that time before or after school, and have my time for homework/play eaten up by traffic. Morning traffic sucks anywhere, and in Tampa and surrounding areas you don't really have to have a commute, its not mandatory. If you work in Brandon, that means every day you go to Brandon...so the best place, schools included, would be Fishhawk Ranch. Makes sense. It is far from the beach, but if you work in Brandon, you work in Brandon and that's that. Everywhere around Brandon is far from the beach... If you want to live or send the kids to school in Sarasota, then find work in Sarasota. Spending all that time+gas commuting make very little sense.

I will reiterate: IF your kids go to a public school, you WILL have to live in their boundary. That choice is just in Hillsborough county, I don't think it exists in Sarasota, and if you don't live in the school boundary you can't go to that school. If its private, that's different. Still wasteful on the gas consumption/time IMO.

Oh no, i've never expected the school to do everything. Although it gets tougher day by day for me to help my kids with their school, my wife spends hours with them. We are not the type of parents that blame the schools for our own lack of attention. We will be involved.

In terms of location, i will live near the school, and will rely on the school bus more likely. There is no chance for me to live in Brandon and send them to Sarasota..

The commute i refered to on my post is strictly me driving to work, nothing to do with the kids. So if i chose to live in Sarasota, my kids will go to Sarasota school; while i commute to Brandon for work. That's still up for debate, but i would not mind the driving if the quality of education in Sarasota makes up for the pain.

[MortonR]

Almost any school in Valrico would be good, and you're a 30 minute commute to downtown for the most part, depending exactly where you end up. Fishhawk has good schools as well (it's considering to be Lithia) but you'll pay dearly for the privilege of living there. It's expensive relative to similar homes in the immediate area that feed into schools that are just as good, if not better.

You can go to the school district's web site and look at maps of the attendance zones:

Hillsborough County Public Schools

RM

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by CarolinaHopefuls

If I look at Tampa, I'd really like to be near the beach, but in a good school district and close enough to the airport for my husband who will travel often. But it will probably be over 30 min from Palm Harbor? I didn't realize how crazy Tampa Rd was. Oldsmar goes to East Lake HS right? Is that a decent high school?

Go to Greatschools.org or a similar website and look at various schools. East Lake is very highly rated. Palm Harbor and Plant are even a tad higher yet.

Yes, Oldsmar residents attend East Lake High School. That would cut down on your airport drive and it would be reasonably convenient to beaches like Clearwater.

[The Villages Guy]

Palm Harbor is the best area for schools.

[Sunscape]

Oldsmar residents also attend Countryside HS, besides East Lake HS.

[SarasotaBound1]

Thanks everyone!

Will post what i know so far for the benefit of other families moving to the area. Hopefully i dont get it wrong. My personal preference is great schools, alot of space, less populated area.

:-)

- In terms of overall district, Sarasota is the best choice. It also has a school for the gifted, Plan View, ranked very high in the US. Grades k - 12. Schools from elementary through 12 are highly ranked by the state and greatschools as well as other sites. Home prices are higher than Tampa and rents are extreme, over 2k. It is close to good beaches, although i will likely pick east side where there is less populated and more space, and tons to do for the family. High-High pick for me due to schools.

- South Tampa - excellent schools from k through 12. Highly ranked by state, greatschools, othef sites. Close to everything, st pete, beaches, the city, airport, etc. Tons of stuff to do, including entertainment. Home prices are higher relative to Tampa, rents are high, but lower than Sarasota. Area seems to be a bit overpopulated and it is near the water. Medium-Medium pick due to overpopulation and proximity to city.

- Palm Harbor - same qualities as South Tampa, but closer to beaches. Medium-Medium pick due to overpopulation and proximity to beach.

- Odessa - highly rated schools k - 12, with some schools receiving medium or low rankings. Home prices and rents are lower than South Tampa and Palm Harbor. Getting to entertainment and beaches is a longer drive also, but there is much more space and less populated. Medium-High pick due to access to good schools and space.

- Lutz - pretty much the same as Odessa. Medium-High pick due to access to good schools and space.

- Fishhawk - same as Lutz and Odessa, but higher priced homes and rents. High-High pick due to access to good schools and space and proximity to work.

- Land O' Lake - same as Lutz, Odessa, and Fishhawk just a bit more driving and less established. Schools appear well ranked. Have not heard great things of Pasco county. Medium-Medium pick due to distance from everything including work (brandon).

- Wesley Chappel - Schools are not ranked as high as other areas. Far from everthing. Low-Low due to schools and distance.

- Valrico, Riverview, Lithia, Tampa Palm - good schools,, but depends on location. May be a challenge to find a location with good elementary, middle and high school. Home and rent prices appear to be lower. Areas tend to be a bit more populated than the above. Medium-Low pick due to population and schools.

So basically Sarasota and Fishhawk are at the top of my list so far, followed by Odessa and Lutz.

[MortonR]

Consider that your housing dollars will be less in a place like Fishhawk due to the CDD and HOA costs.

I haven't looked lately, but I believe the CDD costs alone are approaching or have passed $2,000/year.

Property values are rising again, especially in places like Fishhawk, so you're going to pay a premium for living there, that is, you're going to get a lot less for your housing dollar.

If you take your time and look there are plenty of great schools (as good or better than Fishhawk) in the immediate area where housing costs are much lower.

Also, have you factored the cost of commuting relative to living closer to work? Even with gas at $3/gallon you're going to have a pretty substantial expense, not to mention the wear and tear on the vehicle.

Just my $0.02....

RM

[SarasotaBound1]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Consider that your housing dollars will be less in a place like Fishhawk due to the CDD and HOA costs.

I haven't looked lately, but I believe the CDD costs alone are approaching or have passed $2,000/year.

Property values are rising again, especially in places like Fishhawk, so you're going to pay a premium for living there, that is, you're going to get a lot less for your housing dollar.

If you take your time and look there are plenty of great schools (as good or better than Fishhawk) in the immediate area where housing costs are much lower.

Also, have you factored the cost of commuting relative to living closer to work? Even with gas at $3/gallon you're going to have a pretty substantial expense, not to mention the wear and tear on the vehicle.

Just my $0.02....

RM

Will do. I've seen some homes for rent in the areas i've mentioned above, are the hoa/cdd fees handled by the property owner or is it also an additional expense on top of the rent?

[Stewabby]

It is included in rent everywhere I've seen. I think you are doing the right thing by renting for at least a year before buying. We changed our mind tons of times before we finally bought here. There are just so many different choices.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by SarasotaBound1

Will do. I've seen some homes for rent in the areas i've mentioned above, are the hoa/cdd fees handled by the property owner or is it also an additional expense on top of the rent?

They are the responsibility of the property owner. That said, expect that they are rolled into the rental cost.

You are probably looking at rentals north of $2,000/month in most areas of Fishhawk, if you can find them. Rentals in this immediate area are very difficult to find, and when they do come on the market they rarely last more than a few days.

If you rent be very, very careful about who you are renting from. There are some rentals that could be in pre-forclosure or foreclosure. If that's the case, you could end up being on the street in short order with no place to go. I would definitely avoid any month to month rentals, as I would expect you would.

RM