Meeting to discuss closing George Washington Carver Elementary gets heated

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County parents and teachers are making their voices heard after learning their elementary school could shut down. The revised Master Facility Plan is proposing to consolidate George Washington Carver into Rufus E. Payne Elementary School.

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Dozens of parents and teachers came out to George Washington Carver Elementary School, Tuesday night, for the district’s consolidation impact review meeting.

This school is one of several that could shut down as early as next school year. If the district’s plan gets approved, it would consolidate with Rufus E. Payne Elementary.

But teachers who have been here for generations don’t want to say goodbye.

During the question and answer portion of the meeting, one teacher stood up and said, “Thirty-three years, I’ve been here. I’m not going nowhere, because this is our school!”

“I’m frustrated because it seems like it’s always the schools in the low-income areas,” Carver teacher Latonya Wright said.

Wright is among the many teachers who worked to turn this school around.

“This school used to be an F – years ago it was on the news, I think you all aired it for being an F. We’re five points away from being a B.” Wright said. “Why move us now?”

READ: Duval County School Board moves forward with $953M facility plan, school closures pending final vote

District leaders said the goal is to create one thriving school from two under-utilized schools. Carver’s student enrollment stands at about 300 and Payne is at around 230.

While Carver has more students, Payne has more school capacity and has a magnet program.

Dierra Harris is a teacher at Susie E. Tolbert Elementary who has already dealt with one consolidation, and now she may be going through another.

“I just know how the impact affected all the teachers, and I know that a lot of times children had to go to charter schools,” Harris said.

Harris said it does the teachers a disservice.

“We get those relationships with them and then it’s just all out the window,” Harris said. “And a lot of times it’s not the best fit for everybody.”

Nothing is set in stone yet. There is one more group meeting on October 28th. And then the public hearing will be on October 29th.

The final board vote is set for November 4th.

At the beginning of the month, Duval County School Board members approved the budget for the five-year capital plan that includes the Master Facility Plan.

It shows which schools are on the list to potentially consolidate and shut down.

The proposed school closures were put into the plan earlier this year because of a $1.4-billion shortfall to the 2019 Master Facility Plan.

The district said the problem stemmed from the charter school and private school vouchers, lower enrollment numbers, and COVID-related inflation.

Every school listed on this updated plan will have to go through a three-step process of community meetings, public hearings, and then a board vote.

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