Three schools in one, board to vote on next step in DCPS consolidation plan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Three schools could soon combine into one as Duval County Public Schools continues to consolidate and some buildings left behind could be demolished.

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On Tuesday night, the school board will vote on an item that is the latest step in implementing the district’s master facilities plan approved in 2019.

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“Each of these mergers represents reduced administrative overhead costs for the district,” a district representative said in a statement.

S.A. Hull, Reynolds Lane, and Picket Elementary Schools will combine at a new Pickett Elementary set to be built on a new campus by August 2025.

S.A. Hull could be demolished as part of the plan and turn into green space.

READ: Mixed reactions to change in Duval school calendar, district pushes back

“That’s kind of upsetting me because I feel like it shouldn’t be demolished. It should be a community center or something for the children of the community,” Johnnie Mae DeCosta, who lives across the street, said. “If they just demolish the school, it’s going to look like a dessert over here and we don’t want that in our neighborhood.”

The district held a community meeting on the change last week.

S.A. Hull and Reynolds Lane are “substantially underenrolled” according to an analysis by Castaldi that will go before the school board Tuesday night.

READ: Rally at Duval County Public Schools to return banned books back

S.A. Hull dropped from 280 students enrolled in the 2018-19 school year down to 154 projected for the next school year, which is just 36% of the school’s total capacity. Reynolds Lane had 346 students in 2017-18 and dropped to 209 projected for the next school year, which is 40% of the school’s capacity.

A district representative said, “While annual enrollments fluctuate, enrollment in these schools has generally declined since the emergence of charter schools and private school scholarships.”

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