JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Parents of San Pablo Elementary School were able to ask Duval County Public School Board Member April Carney and Chief of Staff Corey Wright questions about their neighborhood school on Tuesday, as conversations about its possible closure were front and center.
"It was great to be out tonight listening to everybody’s voices," said Carney. "I think now that we’re able to have more conversations after that analysis came out and let everybody know, 'Listen, we are in this together, we’re gonna walk through this together as a community.' I think it’s gonna be a little bit more [of a] calm way to get together and find more solutions as a community."
Laura Sanders is a mother of three San Pablo students. She said she came out to hear directly from school district leaders.
"I mean, I want our school to stay open," Sanders told First Coast News. "We want to see what the future holds for our school. We’re all very concerned about some of the proposed plans and how it’s going to affect our little community school here. I still have a lot of questions. I feel like while a lot of bigger picture topics were discussed tonight, it wasn’t really hit on how our school is going to be affected."
Sanders wasn't the only parent wanting questions answered. Others in the crowd asked Carney a wide range of questions from the school's potential closure and consolidation to the role the district's charter school plays.
"I mean, I believe in school choice, all our children were created uniquely and everybody’s needs are different and nobody knows their child better than a parent," said Carney.
Carney reiterated to parents this is still a proposal and no final decisions are being made right now.
"Every board member is committed to working with their communities to hear voices, come up with solutions and engage," Carney said.
DCPS is planning to host community meetings across the city to gather feedback from parents in May and June.
In the fall, the school district will have small focus groups to start looking at different solutions.