LARGO, Fla. — Pinellas County Schools could be heading toward even more school closures.
What You Need To Know
The district hasn’t set a number of schools to close yet, but the plan is to hold several community meetings over the summer months
The district is already closing two schools at the end of this school year, and converting two others into K-8’s to help save money
Families are encouraged to be at community engagement meetings, and if they can’t, reach out to school board members with your input.
This comes after the school board voted in February to shut down or re-purpose several schools in order to save the district more than $7 million in recurring annual expenses.
The district hasn’t set a number of schools to close yet, but the plan is to hold several community meetings over the summer months. Board Chairperson Caprice Edmond says that it is extremely important for families to weigh in over the summer, because the district will have to close more schools due to the budget.
“Ultimately, it’s the budget, so the district is funded by the amount of students that we have, and each year there’s a decline in enrollment,” she said.
Edmond says part of the district’s “Planning for Progress” includes more school closures.
“We’ve had discussions that the decline in enrollment is due to birth rates, affordability,” Edmond said. “Although our district is not highly populated, or our schools are not highly populated by immigrants, some of the immigration policies and other aspects.”
The district is already closing two schools at the end of this school year, and converting two others into K-8’s to help save money. At the board workshop on Tuesday, Superintendent Kevin Hendrick said for this round of closures, they’ll take a regional approach for community engagement.
“For example, north of Curlew Road, think of Palm Harbor, Tarpon, and say this is how many elementary school students are in these zones, these are how many schools we have, this is how many we have in middle school,” he said. “We already have the feedback of what people like, having K-8’s, all those types of conversations, now present that and ask this one community, ‘What are your ideas for this community based on this data set?'”
Lee Bryant, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, says that with the current proposed state budget, teachers in Pinellas County will only receive a $400 raise for the year. Combine that with the stress of cuts and school closures, and it’s impacting morale.
“It’s almost panic with some teachers out there. They’re so worried and they hear the headlines again and again. We’re able to, I believe in talking with Pinellas County Schools and talking with the HR department, it looks like most people will still have a job. They’re going to try to handle it through attrition,” said Bryant.
And while times may be uncertain, Edmond wants to assure families that students remain a top priority.
“As the district faces budgetary challenges, Pinellas County Schools does offer great choices academically,” said Edmond.
Edmond encourages families to be at the community engagement meetings, and if they can’t, she says reach out to school board members with your input.
The goal is to have a list of schools to close put together by next fall, then school board members will vote, and families will know ahead of the school choice window which opens early winter.