Leaders of Gainesville’s Black community convened a town hall at Dayspring Missionary Baptist Church on Feb. 16 to discuss the potential closure of several schools in east Gainesville.
The Visionaires and the Alachua County NAACP addressed a packed room of residents demanding to know why draft rezoning maps released by the district earlier this month disproportionately effect the city’s historically underserved east side.
District officials say under-enrollment has put Williams, Stephen Foster, Rawlings and Alachua elementary schools and Duval Early Learning Academy under consideration for closure.
Williams, Rawlings and Duval are located in east Gainesville. Stephen Foster is located on Northwest Sixth Street, but community members consider the school a part of east Gainesville.
Former School Board member Diyonne McGraw urged the board to examine the root causes of declining enrollment and consider the potential consequences that school closures could have on east Gainesville’s future.
“We’re not just talking about lines on a map. We’re talking about communities,” she said.
McGraw believes the under-enrollment at the schools slated for possible closure reflects deeper systemic inequities, including a long-standing lack of investment in the community. If schools close, businesses that might have come to east Gainesville will have less incentive to do so, she said.
Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward and several city and county commissioners joined residents at the town hall and echoed McGraw’s concerns.
Officials acknowledged the city’s history of underinvesting in east Gainesville and pointed to the city’s recent efforts to reverse that trend by committing over $100 million to capital projects, including $2 million for revitalizing the Duval neighborhood and additional economic development initiatives in Hawthorne and Waldo.
Taking schools out of those neighborhoods, Ward said, could put a stop to growth.
“We’re open to thinking very creatively about all this, but we can’t be creative and supportive of the people who live in our community if schools sit empty,” Ward said.
Alachua County Commission Chair Ken Cornell said he would like the district to engage with county officials before a final decision on the rezoning maps is made.
Local leaders agreed and intend to formally ask the board to delay its March 12 vote.
The three phase ‘Our Schools — Future Ready’ initiative is a short- and long-term school planning strategy meant to address pertinent issues in the district including enrollment and capacity, facilities, and educational programming.
The district is now in phase two of the initiative and will continue holding community engagement sessions where residents can ask questions and provide feedback on the draft rezoning maps developed by local planning firm JBPro, as well as on broader district priorities.
A public meeting will be held on the rezoning plan at the Alachua County Public Schools District Office on Feb. 23 at 9 a.m.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Leaders question equity as district weighs closing east Gainesville schools
Reporting by Chelsea Long, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
