JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a workshop on Tuesday, the Duval County School Board discussed a much-debated plan to rebuild, close and renovate schools within the district.
The workshop gave the first look at a potential timeline for public school consolidation in Duval County.
The plan, which includes a proposal to close nearly 30 schools, will impact nearly every student enrolled in Duval County Public Schools. Closing or consolidating schools would allow the district to make up for a $1.4 billion gap in the budget.
But nothing has been decided yet, and before making any decisions, the school district wants to hear from the public.
The district says with more students attending private and charter schools, DCPS has lost 30,000 students over the last 10 years.
James Cummings, a parent of an Atlantic Beach Elementary student, had a strong reaction.
“Shocked, saddened, and concerned, like a lot of parents around the city, I’m sure,” Cummings said.
More than a dozen people spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting on Tuesday. Typically, public comment is rare at school board workshops, where the board isn’t voting on anything, underlining just how passionate some people in the community are about keeping their neighborhood schools open, even though the board is months away from making any final decisions.
Parents told the board they were concerned about the potential closure of West Riverside Elementary, Fishweir Elementary School and Atlantic Beach Elementary School. Those pressing to keep that school open wore pink shirts to show their support. Among them was Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford.
“To take the only school, in this case, an elementary school, Atlantic Beach Elementary out of Atlantic Beach would be to just rip the heart out of the city of Atlantic Beach,” Ford said.
After public comment, the board reviewed a proposal from staff on a timeline for moving forward with changes to the district, agreeing to host at least seven public meetings with board members starting next month where people can hear the proposal, ask questions, and provide feedback.
Next, working groups will take a closer look, with the board set to approve the first five years of a plan in September or October.
News4JAX asked School Board chair Darryl Willie when families might feel the impacts of what they decide and staff suggested some changes could be at least a decade away.
“Families can rest assured right now that we’re not making any decisions for next school year,” Willie said.
He said the potentially painful process is, at its heart, about education.
“The whole reason we’re doing this is to make sure that we can pour more resources back where they’re needed and that’s into our classrooms,” he said.
An interactive map News4JAX built shows the enrollment changes within district schools from 2018-19 to 2023-24.
Some schools decreased enrollment by more than 40%, others around 30%, but the majority decreased by up to 20%.
The Jacksonville Beach and Mayport communities have been vocal about their disapproval of the school board’s plan.
“We want our successful schools to remain open. We do not want our schools to merge to be a K through 8. We do not want our elementary schools to close,” San Pablo teacher Angie said.
During Monday night’s Jacksonville Beach City Council meeting, people expressed concerns about the negative fallout that could come with consolidating and closing schools in the area.
“What would the impact to our property value be if all of our schools close? This proposal has clearly not been thought through to the end,” one resident said.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Duval County School Board’s proposal to close & realign schools
Duval County Public School Officials continue to emphasize that they are in the early stages of the process of developing a new long-term facility plan and no decisions on school consolidation recommendations have been made just yet.
The district’s master plan suggests closing magnet schools with low enrollment would save DCPS close to $77 million.
Magnet schools with low utilization include:
- A. Philip Randolph Academy
- Joseph Stilwell Middle School
- RV Daniels Elementary School
- Young Men’s Women’s Leadership Academy
- Grasp Academy (Would move to Don Brewer, not close)
But parents have expressed concerns about what would happen to the specialized trade programs at the closed magnet schools.
The proposal suggests that career academies would be incorporated into Raines High School’s replacement facility as well as other magnet schools if the high schools were to shut down.