JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools parents say reports being used by the Duval County School Board contain inaccurate information.
Parents like Laura Garcia say a report that supports the demolition of John Stockton Elementary School includes information about heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems from 1955 that do not exist. A 2023 Castaldi analysis lists HVAC systems in need of repair as a reason buildings at the school should be razed.
Garcia says she and other parents could not find any HVAC systems at the school that were this old, but did find some HVAC units with stickers indicating they were from 2005 and 2014.
Duval County School Board Chairman Darryl Willie said the Castaldi report only lists items that are "past their useful life."
“So if you had an AC that was 2017 or earlier or whatnot or around that range, it’s not past its useful life so that doesn’t count for a Castaldi," Willie said. "But a 1955, that is in there.”
Garcia noticed photos of the school in the Castaldi analysis appear to be the same photos used in a 2018 facility condition assessment.
“Just those initial findings are kind of what made us concerned of like, okay, were they even on campus?” said Garcia.
Willie said the two reports are very different. He said when making decisions about possible school closures, the board would be more likely to use the facility condition reports.
School board members discussed parents' concerns in a board workshop last week.
“If it's wrong on one school, it could be wrong on other schools,” said Duval County Public School Board Vice Chair Charlotte Joyce in the June 18 workshop. “And then that really affects the whole master facility plan.”
On Monday focus groups met for the first time to discuss the master facilities plan, which includes the proposal to close dozens of schools amid the district's more than $1 billion budget shortfall. John Stockton Elementary School is on the list.
“We need we need a team walking every single campus and double checking what's on those reports versus what's actually there,” said District 2 Board member April Carney in the workshop. “Because our parents are doing it for us and that's a significant problem.”
A district spokesperson said they are looking into the accuracy of the reports and sent the following statement:
"We are in the process of verifying the accuracy of these reports. It would be premature for us to declare or forecast any conclusions. We will continue to do this analysis and report to the board at the appropriate time."
The company that completed the reports, Jacobs Engineering, did not reply to First Coast News’s requests for an interview Monday.