WALDO, Fla. – Parents are upset over plans to close Waldo Community School, which is the only school in the small town for kindergarten through fifth grade.
The school is closing because of low efficiency and low enrollment, according to the Alachua County School Administration. The superintendent's plan proposed that elementary students go to a school 20 minutes away that was rated an even lower grade than Waldo.
The school board will decide on whether to close Waldo Community for good in May due to the school's low efficiency and low enrollment. The board plans to send the 193 elementary students to Shell Elementary, which is 15 1/2 miles away in Hawthorne.
Maurice Dykes was vocal at the meeting Monday evening, stating that all four of his children went to Waldo. He said that as a single parent the schools location is vital.
"Trying to bring your children to school and be involved in a community school and be able to speak to the teachers daily. This is 5 miles away from my house instead of 12 miles away from my house," said Dykes. "I believe it will destroy the community that we have involved here. All the activities that go on in the community -- the Christmas plays, the recreation -- will take a big hit."
One of the biggest concerns of parents is the busing system, which the school board said it's working on. Also, the students would be going from a D school to an F school.
News4Jax found a statement on the superintendents page stating his reason for the consolidation.
"With a higher enrollment, the district will be able to provide to the elementary students from both the Waldo and Hawthorne communities additional programs and services that will greatly enhance their educational experience, including full-time and dedicated art, music, PE and gifted teachers, a media specialist and guidance counselor," the statement reads.
But Waldo physical education teacher Susan Thomas said her students are excelling just where they are.
"We're at 78 percent capacity, but he says that we're under-enrolled, which is a larger number than a lot of other schools in the county," said Thomas. "This is not good for our recreation department, for our city. We can quote stats that being involved in extra-circulars is good for children and when the children can't get back here to be involved in sports like they are tonight, what's going to happen to our town and what's going to happen to our kids?"
Over the next few months the school board will be working out issues such as longer commutes for parents and longer bus commutes for students. The superintendent will hold a meeting March 17, where he will share more of his plan.