JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Staff and parents at seven Duval County schools are being informed this week that their schools are under consideration for closure at the end of this year and consolidation to other schools for the 2025-26 school year.
The changes are part of the latest version of Duval County Public Schools’ Master Facility Plan.
The plan is not yet final, but six elementary schools are being alerted to these possible changes:
- Annie R. Morgan students into Biltmore
- Kings Trail students into Beauclerc
- Don Brewer students into Merrill Road
- Susie Tolbert students into S.P. Livingston
- George Washington Carver students into Rufus E. Payne
- Hidden Oaks students into Cedar Hills
News4JAX’s analysis found the majority of the students who would be impacted by these proposed consolidations are disproportionately minority and economically disadvantaged.
A parent with three children at Susie Tolbert Elementary didn’t want to be identified but told News4JAX, she was blindsided to learn the school may close.
“It was shock,” she said. “We weren’t notified,” she said. “I found out by the news this morning that it was one of the schools that be possibly closed down. But my reaction is I don’t think that’s a good idea because what about the parents that may not have transportation…they can’t get to their kids if it’s an emergency because sometimes some parents on fixed income.”
Susie Tolbert had a school grade of ‘D’ last year and the school it’s proposed to consolidate with, S.P. Livingston, is located a little over a mile away. Most of the students enrolled there are minorities and many are economically disadvantaged.
A parent at another school that could close, Annie R. Morgan Elementary, wrote to News4JAX:
“I’m absolutely upset. This is ridiculous, when my kids started going to Annie R Morgan I had no car and I walked my kids to school every day, along with sooo many other parents that walk there children or the kids walk by themselves. Its the closest...How are the students going to be affected switching schools they have been at…The teachers and staff are family. How will their grades be affected?”
On top of the six elementary schools proposed for closure, the Young Men and Women’s Leadership Academy program at Eugene Butler Middle School would also close under the latest version of the plan. The district’s Bridge to Success middle and high school programs, which are currently housed at St. Claire Evans Elementary and Henry Kite Elementary would then consolidate at Butler.
RELATED: Coverage of the changing DCPS Master Facility Plan
The latest proposed Master Facilities Plan shows that two of the schools receiving students from a closed school would be near capacity, but not over capacity. The other four elementary schools would be around ¾ school.
A final version of the plan will be presented to a community review group on Tuesday.
The school board will then vote on the recommended changes when it meets Oct. 1.
That will trigger a review process, which will include a public hearing on Oct. 29, followed by a final vote on Nov. 4.
The district says the overall goal of the plan is to reduce operating costs by cutting the number of schools.
DCPS is looking to make up for a $1.4 billion budget gap. The district is facing these budget constraints due to the increased cost of building post-pandemic, and increased requirements for revenue sharing with charter schools as well as shrinking school enrollment.
The district says the changes will also make better use of the money provided by the county’s half-cent sales tax.