Pasco Schools Earn an A, With No Campus Below a C for the First Time Since 2004

Pasco County Schools earned an A district grade from the state for 2026, up from a B last year, and for the first time since 2004 not a single school in the district was rated D or F. Every campus landed at a C or higher. The grades come one week before Wesley Chapel students go back to class on Thursday, Aug. 13, the latest first day of any Tampa Bay district.

That combination matters more here than in most of Pasco. Wesley Chapel is where the county's growth is concentrated, and school performance is one of the first things families check before they sign a lease in Meadow Pointe, buy in Wiregrass or Seven Oaks, or weigh a school-choice application out of the Epperson and Watergrass corridor.

What actually moved

The biggest change happened at the bottom of the scale. District officials said the number of Pasco schools under the state's Bureau of School Improvement oversight was on track to drop from eight to zero, and they credited targeted interventions and added support at the campuses that needed it most. Three schools were projected to jump from a D straight to an A: New River Elementary, Gulf Middle and Gulfside Elementary. Chester W. Taylor Elementary was on track to move from an F to a C.

The state also made the grading formula tougher this year, which is part of why the district is treating the result as more than a routine bump. Superintendent John Legg credited teachers, support staff, administrators, students and families, according to statements the district shared publicly.

Statewide, 51% of schools earned an A, 26% a B and 23% a C. Only 31 schools in all of Florida received a D or F, down from 70 the year before. Seven schools statewide got an F.

How Pasco compares nearby

Pasco was one of two Tampa Bay districts to raise its letter grade this year.

District	2026 Grade
Pasco	A (up from B)
Hillsborough	A (up from B)
Pinellas	A
Hernando	B
Polk	B

Grades for individual campuses are posted by the Florida Department of Education, and the district keeps its own school-grades information on the Pasco County Schools site. That is the place to look up your zoned elementary or high school rather than relying on the district-wide letter.

The same week, three other changes

Aug. 13 is also the day Pasco's new classroom screen-time guidance takes effect. Under the district's guidelines, kindergarten and first grade are held to about 30 minutes of screen time a day, grades 2 through 8 to roughly an hour, and high school to an average of about 90 minutes. The district has described the limits as best practice for teachers rather than a student conduct rule, with the point being to cut passive screen time in favor of reading, writing, math fluency and discussion.

The money side is less cheerful. The School Board adopted tentative 2026-27 millage rates and a budget on July 28, with a proposed property tax levy of about $436.6 million against last year's $419.6 million, roughly $17 million more. Wesley Chapel homeowners will see those tentative rates on the TRIM notices arriving in August. The district is also cutting nearly 500 positions to close a shortfall driven by falling enrollment in traditional public schools as charter and school-choice options grow.

Bell times and what comes next

Start times in the area have not changed for the new year. Wesley Chapel High runs 7:07 a.m. to 1:34 p.m. Wesley Chapel Elementary runs 9:40 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. Check your specific school's schedule before the first morning, because elementary and secondary bells are more than two hours apart and carpools built around last year's route will not always work.

Two things follow quickly. The final millage rates and budget go to public hearings in September, which is the point at which residents can speak before the numbers are locked. And two Pasco School Board seats are on the ballot with nine candidates running, five days after the first bell.

For more Wesley Chapel coverage, visit Wesley Chapel Community Website and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X. How did your child's school do this year? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and read more education stories and community news from around Wesley Chapel.

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