Within the past year, Pinellas County Schools leaders have had to make some tough decisions due to enrollment declines. 

In February, the Pinellas County School Board voted to close Pinellas Park’s Cross Bayou Elementary and Gulfport’s Disston Academy at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. St. Petersburg’s Bay Point Elementary and Bay Point Middle will become a K-8 institution on the middle school campus in the 2027-2028 academic year. 

This month, PCS held a series of community meetings to seek input on the next round of changes. This is part of the district’s Planning for Progress initiative. A gathering was hosted Wednesday evening at St. Petersburg High School. 

Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Woodford attended and spoke at the event. 

Enrollment decline is partially due to a decrease in births in the county, Woodford argued. To exemplify, she explained that approximately 10,260 people were born in 1990 in comparison to 7,312 in 2021. 

“What we are seeing is families are making choices to have smaller family units and less children,” Woodford said. “Not all, but many are having one child if any children.” 

Enrollment fell by more than 3,600 students in the 2025-2026 academic year’s preliminary 10-day count compared with the 2024-2025 academic year. This would be equivalent to about two high schools or seven elementary schools, she emphasized. 

A 10-day count is an enrollment audit conducted by districts around the 10th day of the school year. The data is used to help determine funding and guide staffing decisions. 

PCS leaders estimate a decline of 4,000 students in the 2026-2027 academic year. 

“It’s also very expensive to live in Pinellas County and we’ve lost families leaving to go to Manatee, Pasco and Hillsborough counties where it’s more affordable to live,” Woodford added. “In fact, 35% of our employees in our district do not live in Pinellas County.” 

To illustrate, she explained that Pasco County has about 10,000 more students than Pinellas County. However, Pinellas County operates 25 more schools than Pasco County. 

According to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, the school-age population in the county is expected to decrease or plateau through 2050. However, the population of residents aged 80 or over will double by 2050.

“What’s important to know is this is not a Pinellas County problem,” Woodford said. “This is a national crisis right now. We’re all seeing a decline in enrollment.” 

She added that many Pinellas County public schools have been designed to have a smaller student body. This, Woodford believes, makes the decreases more challenging. 

It has become more expensive to operate schools, she added. The district has to pay for the salaries of all staff members and any maintenance-related costs. To exemplify, Woodford said that roof replacements can cost millions of dollars.

At the Wednesday meeting, attendees responded to questions displayed on posters throughout the St. Petersburg High School auditorium.

These included “if school closure(s) are necessary, what are your specific ideas or recommendations in this geographic area?” and “would you support or be interested in a new fundamental elementary or middle school as a choice in this geographic area if it would require the closing or consolidation of a traditional neighborhood school?” 

“Community feedback will and has already had an impact,” Pinellas County School Board member Laura Hine told the Catalyst. “We held community forums in the January – February time frame. We had to make the first round of decisions and hearing directly from families with their ideas led directly to some of the decisions that we made.” 

The Pinellas County School Board will engage in a series of workshops to discuss any future changes in August and September. To learn more about the Planning for Progress initiative and to provide feedback, visit this link.