JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools recommended to the school board that at least two elementary schools be demolished and combined with a third school.
School board members discussed demolition plans at Tuesday’s meeting and approved the consolidation. The vote now lies in the hands of the Florida Department of Education to approve.
Two schools were up for consideration -- S.A. Hull Elementary and Reynolds Lane Elementary -- are magnet schools built more than 55 years ago. If approved, those schools will consolidate into Pickett Elementary after it’s rebuilt.
When considering what to do with the outdated schools, the district also considered enrollment both S.A. Hull and Reynolds Lane are well below capacity.
Demetria Bland Dean, who is the great-granddaughter of S.A. Hull. She shared concerns about a lack of communication on consolidating and demolishing the school.
“When was the building built? Have there been any building improvements since the construction of the school? What forms of communications have you used to reach the parents, teachers, students, community leaders and the community besides Facebook and the school’s website? How will closing S.A. Hull Elementary School benefit the teachers, parents, students and the community?” Dean said.
A Castaldi analysis report determined several DCPS schools were eligible for demolition based on age, maintenance backlog, esthetics or safety.
The report also uses data from the Florida Department of Education related to school construction and project costs, data and a facilities assessment.
In addition to S.A. Hull and Reynolds Lane, the report also flagged Rufus E. Payne Elementary School.
The district now plans to consolidate that school into the new George W. Carver Elementary School on the George W. Carver campus. By combining the two schools, the district will save roughly $750,000 per year.
This isn’t the first time DCPS has demolished and consolidated schools.
Carter G. Woodson Elementary School was consolidated into Northwestern Legends Elementary School.
DCPS staff also recommend that the school board close R.V. Daniels Elementary at the end of this academic year.
Students would transfer to R.L. Brown for the 2024-25 academic year.
Renovations at R.L. Brown would begin later this year and finish in time for the 2025-26 academic year.