JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Parents of students in Duval County Public Schools continue to implore the School Board to find an alternative to a proposed Master Facility Plan that would potentially close nearly 30 schools across the district.
The plan, which would impact nearly every DCPS student in some way, was proffered to make up for a $1.4 billion gap in the district’s budget. Florida’s expansion of the school choice program is one of the factors contributing to that budget shortfall as more parents pull their children out of public schools and the state budget dollars go with them.
DCPS is hosting a series of meetings to hear from the community before making decisions on the proposal.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Duval County School Board’s proposal to close & realign schools
Monday’s meeting at the School Board headquarters was the first time that newly selected superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier was present to listen to parents’ and teachers’ concerns.
Bernier’s departure from Lee County and salary request came under scrutiny from the community last week, but he and the district came to a compromise after weekend negotiations, and the board is expected to vote on his $320,000 contract on Wednesday.
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Most parents at Monday’s meeting spoke against the idea of school closures. They also asked the school board and DCPS staff questions to get better insight on future plans. Some were emotional when expressing themselves to the school board.
Parents will get another chance to address the school board on the Master Facility Plan at a 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday at Stanton College Prep on West 13th Street.
After Tuesday, here’s the remaining schedule of meetings that are open to the public (every meeting starts at 6 p.m.):
- Thursday, June 13: District 6 meeting at Ed White High School
- Monday, June 17: District 7 meeting at Atlantic Coast High School
- Tuesday, June 18: District 5 meeting at Paxon School for Advanced Studies
- Thursday, June 20: District 1 at Terry Parker High School
INTERACTIVE MAP: Duval County School Board’s proposal to close & realign schools
The district has emphasized that nothing has been decided yet as far as the Master Facility Plan, and before making any decisions, the school district wants to hear from the public.
Following a workshop last month, the district decided to form 12 focus groups: 11 representing each high school feeder pattern that was proposed in the Master Facility Plan and one focus group representing magnet schools.
Each focus group will have experts who have backgrounds in areas like accounting, business operations, or logistics as the district aims to right size its schools.
The district is also asking people to give their input through a survey online: Click here to fill out the survey.