JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Many parents and students lined up at the podium Tuesday night to make their final pleas to the Duval County School Board about the much-discussed Master Facility Plan ahead of next week’s vote.
The five-year plan would impact nearly every student in the district.
The most immediate and much-debated impact would be the closure of several schools.
Last month, the district warned staff and parents at seven Duval County schools that under the updated version of the Master Facility Plan, their schools are being considered for closure at the end of this year and consolidation to other schools for the 2025-26 school year.
People raised concerns about how much time they were allotted to come together and fight for their schools compared to other schools that had months to organize against the potential closures.
RELATED: Coverage of the changing DCPS Master Facility Plan
Six elementary schools were 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
The latest proposed Master Facility 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 75% full.
Jennifer Kennedy said losing King Trail Elementary could be another blow to their community since the YMCA also closed.
“It’s hurting our families a lot because our families are struggling to get to school at Kings Trail so how are they going to get all the way to Beauclerc, besides obviously bus transportation but mainly a lot of these parents walk or what have you, they don’t have the cars and all that,” Kennedy said at the meeting.
Other concerns brought up at the meeting were about many of the schools being proposed to close being in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. So, other community members emphasized that because the school board did not see parents showing up to fight for the school, didn‘t mean they didn’t love and value those schools.
Tuesday night’s public hearing also discussed the plan to move the Bridge to Success program to Eugene Butler Middle School.
The Young Men and Women’s Leadership Academy program at Eugene Butler Middle School would close, and 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.
“Even though we weren’t afforded a lot of time they still put some thought and consideration into our school,” YMWLA student Ayden Johnson said. “We just ask for the heart, the heart of their human being and natural self to put into our school.”
What families need to know:
- Students attending Merrill Road, S.P. Livingston, Biltmore and Beauclerc will not be affected by this change.
- Students attending Don Brewer, Susie E. Tolbert Annie R. Morgan and Kings Trail are proposed to attend their new schools starting in August 2025, if approved.
- All eight schools will operate as normal during the 2024-25 school year.
News4JAX’s analysis found the majority of the students who would be impacted by these proposed consolidations are disproportionately minority and economically disadvantaged.
The district says the overall goal of the plan is to reduce operating costs by cutting the number of schools.
The district’s Master Facility Plan is part of a larger effort to make up for a $1.4 billion budget gap.
The district’s massive budget constraints are due to the increased cost of building post-pandemic, increased requirements for revenue sharing with charter schools and shrinking school enrollment. Over the last 10 years, the district has lost 30,000 students.
The district says the changes will also make better use of the money provided by the county’s half-cent sales tax.
One DCPS parent expressed frustration with district leaders for considering cutting schools to make up for the loss.
“When you look back in the last 20 years, there are at least 20 schools that have been closed in District 4 and District 5. When you look at the schools that are on the table to be closed ... they’re again in District 4 and District 5,” Yasmina White said. “So as you continue to suffocate those communities, they only have charter schools left. They only have private schools left, or you only leave them the option of putting them in a homeschool.”
DCPS will make a final decision on Tuesday, Nov. 4.