By Michele Leivas
Fishweir, Stockton, West Riverside escape closure list; public hearing to be held Oct. 29, final board vote Nov. 4
UPDATE:
The Duval County School Board approved the proposed 5-year Capital Plan that includes the Master Facility Plan at its Oct. 1 board meeting.
The board voted 6-1 to approve the plan, which would close six elementary schools at the end of this school year, with other closures to follow in subsequent years. Schools marked for closure in August 2025 include Annie R. Morgan, Don Brewer, Kings Trail, Susie Tolbert, George Washington Carver and Hidden Oaks.
Fishweir, Stockton and West Riverside elementary schools – which had all been included on the school closure list in earlier drafts of the Master Facility Plan – escaped closure in this latest version. Ortega Elementary School remains on the closure list – but not until the conclusion of the 2030 school year, at which time its students would be consolidated into Venetia Elementary School.
Review process
Following the Oct. 1 vote, DCPS will conduct a review process, with meetings held at the six schools marked for closure this year. A public hearing on the plan will be held Oct. 29, with a final school board vote scheduled for Nov. 4.
The Duval County School Board was expected to vote Oct. 1 on a revised Master Facility Plan that removed Fishweir, John Stockton and West Riverside elementary schools from the closure list. Ortega Elementary remained on the closure list in the plan submitted for board consideration Sept. 17 by Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier.
“We said all along there were scenarios or ideas, that we were having conversations,” Board Chair Darryl Willie said of the draft MFP that includes $1.1 billion in funding
over five years. “Now it is an actual recommendation from the superintendent. I feel good. I feel like the community was involved.”
The recommendations come after extensive community input through public meetings and focus groups held throughout the summer and early fall. West Riverside Elementary parent Stephanie Garfunkel was part of the focus group for the Riverside High School feeder pattern. She said she is grateful that the West Riverside community input was heard.
“I’m happy that the district has revised the Master Facility Plan to take important factors into their decision making, specifically enrollment growth and academic performance for its diverse student body,” she said. “The parents of West Riverside made a strong case for why the school should continue to operate and we’re thankful to see that our voices have been heard.”
As the board waits for the final recommendation on which it will vote, it has begun contacting the schools that could be impacted by closures and/or consolidations in the 2025-26 school year. The district has also begun consolidation impact review meetings that will continue through October.
‘Equitable isn’t equal’
District 1 Board Member Dr. Kelly Coker asked for reassurances from Bernier that this latest draft recommendation was equitable in its approach to consolidations and closures. Previously, Coker had expressed concerns regarding “stunning” disparities in the previous closure list that had removed an A-rated school in the Beaches area from the list while placing Arlington’s A-rated Lake Lucina Elementary on the closure list for the first time.
The superintendent’s MFP has removed Lake Lucina from the closure list, instead slating it to be replaced with a new building in the Terry Parker High School feeder pattern.
Bernier stressed that there must be equity in the process, although there are various factors at play, including population patterns and shifts.
“Equitable is not equal,” Bernier said. “…I think we have to get to the point where we know what we have to consolidate, what we have to close, and we work in an appropriate fashion to make those difficult decisions. And we keep an eye on equity as we move through the process.”
