WESLEY CHAPEL — Continuing growth in Wesley Chapel and eastern Pasco County is set to bring two major new public schools in 2028: a medical magnet high school in Meadow Pointe and a K-8 campus in the sprawling Two Rivers development in Zephyrhills.
The K-8 campus is already moving into the permitting phase, while the high school is not far behind. Both schools are expected to break ground within the next few months, with doors opening in the fall of 2028, according to Chris Williams, the district’s director of planning.
“These are our most critical areas right now,” Williams said. “That’s where the growth and the capacity pressures are.”
The high school in Meadow Pointe will sit on 70 acres of district-owned land adjacent to the Country Walk community on the south side, just west of Meadow Pointe Boulevard.
The campus will serve an area Williams described as “right on the line between Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel,” where enrollment is well beyond capacity.
As of Oct. 15, Wesley Chapel was operating at 134% capacity, while Wiregrass Ranch stood at 143%, making them the two most overcrowded high schools in the county.
The new campus will be a magnet high school with a medical focus, and unlike some past magnet schools, it will include full athletic facilities.
“In the past, when we built magnet high schools, we didn't necessarily build athletic facilities,” Williams said. “But we have enough land at this location where we're going to be able to have those.”
The Two Rivers K-8 school will be north of State Road 56 between Gall Boulevard and Morris Bridge Road and is designed primarily to serve students living within the Two River development and immediate surrounding neighborhoods, which could include parts of Wesley Chapel.
District planners originally hoped to build a high school in the Two Rivers area as well, but land prices limited the purchase to an $8.15 million, 23.43-acre site suitable for a K-8 campus.
The school will also include athletic amenities, such as an outdoor track and a football/soccer field.
Both projects are slated to break ground with the “next couple of months,” Williams said, though the design work for the Two Rivers campus is further along than the Meadow Pointe high school.
The school board is budgeting $93.4 million for Two Rivers K-8, and $68 million to build the Meadow Pointe high school, but the cost could fluctuate as the design process progresses.
According to Williams, the hottest area for enrollment growth in the county continues to be Wesley Chapel and adjacent developments like Wiregrass Ranch and Two Rivers.
“Zephyrhills has been growing. Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass, all those areas are in growth mode,” Williams said.
The district closely tracks rooftops and development patterns to time future construction and avoid overbuilding, especially as overall enrollment has dipped slightly in recent years, in part due to expanded voucher programs.
Even so, Williams said eastern Pasco is well positioned.
The district has already expanded capacity through renovations at Zephyrhills and Pasco high schools, while several charter schools are also helping absorb growth. Those include Academy at the Farm, which added high school classes this year, Pinecrest Academy in Avalon Park, which now calls itself a K-11 and continuing to expand its high school offerings, and Mater Academy Northwood K-12, which is expected to open this fall on County Line Road east of I-75.
Beyond the 2028 projects, the district owns several parcels for future schools.
For example, it owns property on Handcart Road that sits between Wesley Chapel, Pasco and Zephyrhills high schools. Williams said that site has long been earmarked for an additional high school when the time comes. And with developments like the expansive Villages of Pasadena Hills, as well as growth in the northern area of Wesley Chapel, including San Antonio and St. Leo, that could come sooner than later.
“I feel like land-wise, we are covered,” Williams said. “It's just a matter of when to pull the trigger on additional facilities.”
For now, the Two Rivers K-8 and Meadow Pointe high school address the most urgent needs, while allowing Pasco to remain cautious with taxpayer dollars, Williams said.
“Obviously, on the west side, where we've consolidated a little bit, you know, we've closed a couple schools,” he said. “So we're trying to be prudent and fruitful with the taxpayer dollars and build it when we need it. But not too quick.”