After coordinated parent and community pushback, Pinellas County Superintendent Kevin Hendrick has revised his recommendation for consolidating underused schools in Tarpon Springs.
His new proposal, delivered to parents via email Monday afternoon, would establish two K-8 schools in the city at the county’s northernmost point.
It now calls for expanding Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary into a K-8 school at the Sunset Hills Elementary campus and transferring Sunset Hills into a traditional K-8 at Tarpon Springs Middle. The tiny Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary campus would no longer be used.
“At the end of the day, it still closes one school and better utilizes the three elementary schools that were at 300 (students) or below,” Hendrick said.
It also mollifies community concerns that the original plan could have forced many Tarpon Springs middle schoolers out of the city for sixth through eighth grades if their families did not want the fundamental model, which does not provide busing and has increased parent and homework requirements.
“I think that is a valid concern,” Hendrick said.
Hendrick did not change his recommendation to close Sexton Elementary, one of six elementary schools below 50% capacity along a 6-mile stretch of 16th Street North. Parents at that St. Petersburg school have called for other options.
Hendrick said he will present other possibilities to the board during a Tuesday morning workshop, such as closing Woodlawn or Lynch elementary schools instead.
“I anticipate the board discussing those and we’ll see where we land,” Hendrick said.
The board is holding its workshop after officials conducted several public meetings at schools that were tagged for closure or consolidation as part of the district’s effort to use its space more efficiently.
Once serving more than 100,000 students, Pinellas schools now enroll slightly more than 70,000. Planners anticipate enrollment will continue to shrink for several more years.
The district closed two schools this year and announced plans to shutter seven more next year. The most coordinated opposition came from the Sexton and Tarpon Springs communities.
None of the other schools proposed for closure — Kings Highway, Blanton, Azalea, Bear Creek and Lealman Innovation — have been altered. Hendrick said he will recommend that families displaced by closures get priority if they want to attend a different non-application school that has available space.
Parents in Tarpon Springs were elated with the news that Hendrick had updated his recommendation for their schools.
By expanding and relocating rather than closing the fundamental school, parents expect their principal and teachers to remain — something that wasn’t part of the initial proposal.
“If we have to move, this is the way we would want to move,” said Erin Smith, a PTA leader at Tarpon Springs Fundamental. “I’m happy that they listened and I’m happy with the new recommendation.”
Megan Delgado, another Tarpon Springs Fundamental PTA leader, said she worked with counterparts at Sunset Hills and Tarpon Springs Middle to devise an alternative to the superintendent’s initial plan. No one wanted change, she acknowledged, but almost everyone recognized something had to give.
“We think this is definitely the best solution for the Tarpon community as a whole,” Delgado said.
Sexton parent Katie Everson said she was happy to hear Tarpon Springs schools were reconsidered. They made strong arguments for their case, she said.
But so did Sexton, she said, adding that parents who want to keep their school open are continuing to brainstorm ideas.
“I am still hopeful for the board” rewriting the plan, Everson said. “It’s a little bit discouraging, but we’re still trying.”
The district will have meetings at schools slated for closure for a week after the workshop. The board’s final vote is set for Oct. 13.
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