JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Several schools in Duval County Public Schools could possibly close or consolidate due in part to declining enrollment, new state legislation funneling tax dollars to charter schools and lifting the income requirements for school choice vouchers.
“They have been a dramatic, a dramatic blow, dramatic. When you change that income requirement, that’s wild to me," DCPS school board chair Darryl Willie said.
In a room of NAACP members, parents and teachers, Willie and Interim Superintendent Dr. Dana Kriznar said the district needs to cut costs in order to move forward with facility upgrades funded by its 2020 half penny sales tax referendum.
“I was part of the group that came and promised you that we would listen to you, and we would keep our promises if you passed the referendum," Kriznar said.
In 2020, the district promised upgrades at schools like Westside High School, but a consultant’s report suggests closing several schools, including Westside High School.
The consultant suggested consolidating to create a feeder school system and save money.
“We need to get the kids involved, we need to get parents involved," DCPS parent, Michelle Crumbley, said.
Crumbley listened to the district’s plans at Tuesday's meeting. The district said nothing is final, but her child’s school, A Philip Randolph Career Academies, is proposed to close and consolidate
“We just have so many kids that are being touched and being able to go out and get a job right away," Crumbley said.
Crumbley said parents, teachers, and children need to advocate for their schools.
Willie says it’s the districts job to listen and do its best to make good on its promise.
“If a school was supposed to be a renovated brand-new school that will affect how we move forward in that decision, because that will mean not only making one decision, but actually changing a whole plan in the process," Willie said.
Willie said the district is planning to host community meetings all around the city to gather feedback from parents. Those will happen in May and June.
He said in the fall the district is looking to have small focus groups of people in the community to start looking at different solutions.
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