Alachua County Public Schools finished its second week of community input meetings to gather feedback on its rezoning initiatives Thursday.
The district released nine draft plans — three for each school level: elementary, middle and high — Feb. 2.
The elementary school maps call for the closure of up to four schools: Williams, Foster, Rawlings and Alachua Elementary Schools — five if Duval Early Learning Academy, a pre-K through kindergarten school, is considered.
At the middle school level, the district proposed the conversion of two middle schools — Mebane and Lincoln — into kindergarten through eighth grade schools. Oak View, a middle school in Newberry, is expected to become a pre-K through eighth grade school to compensate for Newberry Elementary School’s conversion to a charter.
Zoning changes across the high school maps were most apparent within inner-Gainesville schools like Buchholz and Gainesville High Schools.
Buchholz High School
More than 100 community members filled Buchholz High School’s auditorium Monday to listen to a presentation on the district’s rezoning initiatives.
Following the meeting, residents gathered in the auditorium to provide feedback to district workers. Concerns were shared through note cards, conversations and an online survey.
Geof Gowan, a 55-year-old parent of an incoming middle school student, was among those who voiced concerns at Monday’s meeting.
His child was originally zoned for Fort Clarke Middle School, he said, but two of the maps rezone them for Westwood Middle School.
The Florida Department of Education labeled Fort Clarke Middle School an “A” school for the 2024-25 school year; Westwood Middle School received a “C” grade.
“I understand the consolidation and the efficiencies of rearranging,” Gowan said, “but if the school sucks, it's bad for the kids.”
He worries the quality of teaching will differ for kids not enrolled in Westwood’s magnet program.
Westwood Middle School offers the Cambridge International Program, which combines collaborative learning with critical thinking and technology, according to the school’s website. However, students zoned for the school may attend without being enrolled in the program.
Laurel McAllister, a 43-year-old Gainesville resident, also expressed concerns over the middle school maps. However, her criticisms centered around the proposed K-8 schools.
“I would like to see a numbers breakdown of what these closures save versus what they're gonna have to spend to renovate schools to be K-8,” she said. “There are certain standards for what has to be in place for kindergarten.”
According to The Florida Department of Education, kindergarten playgrounds must be separated from surrounding areas by a 4-foot fence. Kindergarten classrooms must also have direct access to the play area.
It might be challenging for the district to implement changes to middle school campuses to accommodate an influx of kindergarten students and the wide range in ages offered in K-8 schools, McAllister said.
Oak View Middle School
Gainesville residents were not the only community members that attended this week’s meetings. Roughly 50 Newberry residents attended Tuesday’s meeting at Oak View Middle School.
During the meeting, Kathie Ebaugh, the director of planning at JBPro, stressed the importance of maximizing capacity at schools. JBPro is the company ACPS is working with to design the rezoning plans.
Empty seats in elementary schools throughout the county are enough to fill 4.2 schools, she said. At the middle school level, these vacancies fill 1.9 schools, and at the high school level, they fill 0.7 schools.
The proposed elementary school closures and the expansion of middle schools into K-8 schools is meant to account for the findings.
“If we're stretching ourselves too thin by spending and keeping schools open that are not to capacity, then we are not utilizing our dollars completely well,” Ebaugh said.
Following the presentation, community members spoke with ACPS administration and JBPro workers to discuss the proposed changes and provide feedback.
Within these meetings, JBPro representatives recognized three aspects of community feedback were most prevalent: the need for better transportation, upgraded facilities and strong academic programs.
The representatives also stressed that faculty members — including teachers and guidance counselors — at schools recommended for closure will be offered positions at other schools in the district.
Students enrolled in magnet programs won’t be affected, even if their zoned school changes, they said.
Eastside High School
Over 50 community members attended Wednesday’s meeting at Eastside High School. Among those in attendance were a group of individuals protesting the proposed closure of Duval Early Learning Academy.
The individuals adorned Duval Early Learning Academy T-shirts and held posters disapproving the school’s closure.
Tina Days, a 47-year-old parent of a Duval Early Learning Academy student, was among those in attendance.
With the proposed closures of Duval Early Learning Academy and Rawlings Elementary School, both the school her daughter currently attends and the school the family’s zoned for are at risk of closure.
Days, who has regularly attended school board meetings to emphasize the importance of Duval Early Learning Academy during public comment, is frustrated with the proposed plans.
“I've been talking about this,” she said. “Everything I have said has come true.”
She feels the school closures are disproportionately affecting the east side of the county, she added. East Gainesville is home to several historically Black neighborhoods that have historically lacked access to infrastructure like grocery stores and healthcare as development clusters nearer the west part of the city.
Of the proposed school closures, Williams, Rawlings and Duval are on the east side. Foster Elementary School is located at the intersection between the east and west sides.
For Gainesville residents, like 75-year-old Jacquelyn Collins, the proposed closures of these schools may create problems with transportation.
“We're back to the same thing we did before: busing,” Collins said. “So, why are we going backwards?”
The format of the community input meetings is another point of concern for Collins.
Rather than engaging in public discussion, participants watch a presentation in the auditorium and go to the media center for one-on-one discussions with JBPro representatives and district workers.
“Where's the meeting? Where's the conversation?” she said. “Where’s the people that can make a difference, can make the changes? … Are we conversating with them? Are you making changes in closed rooms and closed circles?”
Collins wasn’t the only community member concerned with the lack of public discussion. Others voiced worries the meeting format discourages participants from hearing the perspectives of other attendees.
Kanapaha Middle School
Roughly 50 people gathered at Kanapaha Middle School Thursday evening to listen to the district’s rezoning plans.
Ebaugh, who provided a presentation of the maps, explained though the maps are labeled the same, they do not correspond with one another. If Map A is selected at the elementary school level, it doesn’t automatically mean Map A will be selected at the middle school level.
The maps, in their current state, will be modified before being selected, she added.
Using feedback collected during the community input meetings, JBPro will create a revised version of the maps. The modified maps will undergo revisions at school board workshops before being voted on by the board at a March 12 meeting.
“Nothing is final yet,” Ebaugh said several times throughout the meeting. “No final decisions have been made.”
Parents and community members looking to provide input can fill out a survey online. The next community input meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 at Mebane Middle School.
Contact Grace Larson at glarson@alligator.org. Follow her on X @graceellarson.
Grace Larson is a first-year journalism student, currently serving as K-12 education reporter. She has previously served as city/county commission reporter for The Alligator's metro desk. In her free time, she enjoys staying active and hanging out with her family.
