DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – The Duval County School Board voted Tuesday night to approve recommendations to consolidate several elementary schools in the city’s North and Northwest neighborhoods.
The decision will impact thousands of students and future generations. Families were able to comment on these changes during a virtual meeting last week hosted by school board members.
The schools impacted include, but are not limited to Brentwood Elementary School, John Love Elementary School, and Carter G. Woodson Elementary School.
For John Love Elementary, the district’s recommendation was to combine it into Long Branch Elementary School, a change that will take effect for the Fall 2020 semester.
Another recommendation was to merge Brentwood Elementary School with North Shore Elementary after the sales tax referendum vote in November. School Board member Darryl Willie said Brentwood is one of Jacksonville’s oldest schools. There was a lot of community support to keep it as is.
"If you look into the future, I think we're going to have to make some decisions," Willie said. "Do we support it with more financial resources? Even if we do that, we're not going to be able to expand or grow that school."
A third recommendation had to do with Carter G. Woodson Elementary School. Willie said the original plan was to merge Woodson and St. Clair Evans Academy into a brand new school, named Northwestern Elementary School. The new elementary school would be in the original Northwestern Middle School building, which closed at the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
Willie said the new recommendation now is to only turn St. Clair Evans into Northwestern Elementary School in the old middle school building, starting in the 2020-2021 school year.
Carter G. Woodson will stay open for at least one more school year. If the school fails to get a C grade after the 2020-2021 school year, it will dissolve and be merged into the new Northwestern Elementary.
Overall, Willie said these changes will impact quite a few people.
“We have a great school system where you have the opportunity to choose whatever school that you want to," Wilie said. "But we also understand that many folks are choosing their neighborhood schools, which are great options. So, this is going to affect a number of students, parents, and families.”
