Eastside Elementary to become Eastside Academy of Leadership and Innovation K-8 2026-27

Eastside Elementary in Brooksville will expand into a K-8 campus and change its name to Eastside Academy of Leadership and Innovation, school leaders confirmed Feb. 27, 2026. The phased rollout begins by adding sixth grade for the 2026-27 school year, and construction underway includes a new cafeteria expanding capacity from about 100 to more than 300 students at once.

Principal Mike Lastra told Spectrum Bay News 9 the shift is aimed at keeping students in the district through middle school. “As a district, we’re losing students in middle school, attending charters, you know, private schools, whatever the case, and then they’re coming back in high school. So how can we capture these kids who are leaving for that portion of time, well, K-8s,” Lastra said.

Lastra also framed the change as continuity for students with ongoing needs, telling Bay News 9, “You know those kids, even students that may have certain struggles, academically or behaviorally, emotionally, you know those struggles and you’ve worked with those struggles since they were in kindergarten, so you’re able to be able to build that relationship even further in middle school.” He led a tour of the 51-year-old campus and pointed to “new additions currently under construction” as part of the conversion.

Facility plans publicized in local reporting and social posts highlight new programming spaces for agriculture science and a so-called “space force” program, alongside the larger cafeteria. Bay News 9 quoted the principal describing the cafeteria change: “This will be our new cafeteria, so we’re going from a cafeteria that fits about 100 kids to one that fits over 300 kids at a time, so this can more than accommodate having more grades, K-8th grade.”

The district has filed formal paperwork on the proposal. Hernando County Schools Legistar lists File #: 26-3590 titled “Informational Item on the Expansion of Eastside Elementary School,” with the file created Jan. 30, 2026 and placed on the workshop agenda Feb. 10, 2026. The Legistar executive summary states verbatim: “The Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning and Principal of Eastside Elementary School, on behalf of the Superintendent of Schools, hereby requests the Board to review the informational item with tentative board approval on the expansion of Eastside Elementary School to a future K8 school.” Legistar attachments named include “Eastside Academy of Leadership & Innovation Proposal (1)” and “Budget Sheet Sept 2021 Revised NO Financial Impact ACC.”

School communications and local reporting scheduled a family meeting referenced by Bay News 9 for Feb. 18 as part of outreach, and the district’s confirmation was noted Feb. 27, 2026. The Legistar entry lists contacts for the proposal: Gina Michalicka, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, 352-797-7000, Michalicka_g@hcsb.k12.fl.us, and Mike Lastra, Principal, 352-797-7045, Lastra_m@hcsb.k12.fl.us.

The proposal seeks tentative board approval but the Legistar excerpt shows no recorded final board action and the budget attachment in the file is provided without line-item figures in the public excerpt. Construction is progressing on campus additions, and Eastside officials say the school will begin the K-8 transition with sixth grade in 2026-27 to preserve “Leopard pride” and reduce mid-school transfers.