Pinellas County plans to close seven schools and merge others due to lack of enrollment<\/a><\/p>\nSexton PTA president Jacquelyn Hussey said this temporary decision won\u2019t stop parents from pushing to keep the St. Petersburg school open.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are definitely not going to get comfortable and we\u2019re not going to stop,\u201d Hussey said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to just keep hitting the ground and talking to as many people who will listen to us, we are not slowing down.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added they appreciate the board staying open-minded to keeping the school open.<\/p>\n
Her daughter, Olivia, is a second-grader at Sexton.<\/p>\n
Hussey said she tried to keep the potential closure news from her for as long as possible. But Olivia saw the work she was doing and grew curious.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I had to break the news to her, unfortunately, and she went to pieces,\u201d said Hussey. \u201cBut I reassured her, we\u2019re not just going to let this happen \u2014 we\u2019re going to fight the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sexton Elementary is just a few minutes away from Hussey\u2019s home in St. Petersburg, as is the recreation center that Olivia frequents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be disturbing her in two places because she has her friends at school and her environment at school, and she has the people she knows at the rec center,\u201d Hussey said.<\/p>\n
After hearing feedback from concerned parents during a workshop Tuesday, Superintendent Kevin Hendrick said the board will not include Sexton Elementary in next week\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something that, I think, you can just lay out a recommendation and vote the next week,\u201d Hendrick said. \u201cI think you have to listen, continue to gather feedback, knowing that you\u2019re not going to make everyone happy because everyone\u2019s unique situation is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sexton isn\u2019t the only school at risk.<\/p>\n
Hendrick updated his recommendation on the board\u2019s \u201cPlanning for Progress\u201d proposal.<\/p>\n
He now wants to create two K-8 schools in the Tarpon Springs area \u2014 one at the current Sunset Hills Elementary School and another at Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary School.<\/p>\n
Parents from Sexton banded together with Tarpon Springs Middle School, which is also at risk of closure, to advocate for an alternative.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just a united front,\u201d Hussey said. \u201cThey\u2019ve had a bigger impact than we have, honestly, so they seem like a good role model.\u201d<\/p>\n
The School Board is set to vote on Oct. 13 on the other six proposed school closures.<\/p>\n
The zoning changes of impacted schools will be considered at a separate board meeting.<\/p>\n
Emma Brisk is a Rush Family Radio News intern at WUSF, the bay area\u2019s NPR affiliate.<\/p>\n
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