With enrollment shrinking, the Pinellas County school district needs to figure out how to best use its buildings for students and the community.
Like other Florida districts coping with similar scenarios, Pinellas is turning to its residents for ideas. Superintendent Kevin Hendrick announced Oct. 28 that it will hold five town hall meetings in the next two months toward that end.
The first one will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at Boca Ciega High, with others to follow at Largo, Dunedin, Hollins and Lakewood high schools.
“The voice of the public, our employees and anyone interested in our schools is very important in this conversation,” Hendrick said.
All possibilities are open for consideration, he said. The issue has heightened importance as districts also face implementation of a new law that allows certain charter schools to claim access to space in under-used campuses.
Officials across the state are exploring ways to more efficiently use their facilities to prevent what they consider a potential disruption of what’s been termed “co-location” of Schools of Hope.
“We’d like to hear key ideas on topics such as population trends, school building capacities, new school programs and the possibilities for new grade configurations like K-8 or 6-12, school closures and consolidations,” Hendrick said. “We look forward to those discussions in the next couple of months and, as promised, we’ll bring some initial recommendations to the board in January.”