DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — The Duval County Public School Board is wrapping up its last few community public forum meetings to discuss its Master Facility Plan.
These forums have been packed with parents, students and community members coming out to voice their concerns and ask questions.
A sea of colors can be seen in the seats of school auditoriums, cafeterias and gyms all over the district during these meetings. Red shirts, yellow shirts, blue, pink and green shirts are worn by parents, students, teachers and community members.
"I think it helps with visibility, I think having a very graphic representation of community support is important," said Colleen November, an Atlantic Beach Elementary parent. "We want to be graphic with it, we want to be bold with it."
She is a part of a group of PTA parents who have helped make some of these school shirts.
"We’ve all been coming together. There’s amazing people in every single S.O.S group, and we have been communicating together, and I think we’re stronger together," she said.
Each shirt color represents a different school, but all have the same message printed on them: Save Our School.
"We want the school board and the staff and superintendent to hear that we are not going away, and we will be a part of this process," said November.
DCPS parents said this is a visual way to stand in solidarity with not only the schools they are fighting for, but the community as a whole.
"Having a school represented by a room full of t-shirts," said November. "A room full of red, a room full of pink, a room full of yellow for Englewood Elementary, a room full of blue for Stockton and Holiday Hill and having all of these make up the rainbow of Duval County public schools and we all have voices, and we all have communities."
DCPS will be holding its last two meetings this week:
- June 18 - District 5 Community Meeting at Paxon School of Advanced Studies at 5:30 p.m.
- June 20 - District 1 Community Meeting at Terry Parker High School at 5:30 p.m.