ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — Atlantic Beach neighbors continue to organize and voice support for Atlantic Beach Elementary as Duval County Public Schools prepares to look at proposals to consolidate or close the A-rated school.
Saturday morning, the City of Atlantic Beach held a town hall where the city commission and neighbors discussed ways to move forward in their efforts to save the school.
“We cannot sleep on this," one neighbor said.
“We have to nip it," city commissioner, Michael Waters, said.
“We’re not going away,” Mayor Curtis Ford, said.
Neighbors, the city commission, and the mayor are all united.
“Take Atlantic Beach Elementary off the list," Ford said.
The list is a proposal from an outside consultant who presented ways for Duval County Public Schools to cut costs.
DCPS said it hasn’t made any decisions as of yet.
“[We need to] figure out with rational not emotional arguments why we want our schools and other community schools in the district to get off the list," one neighbor said.
Duval County Schools says cost cutting is needed due to inflation and recent legislation creating revenue sharing between public and charter schools.
DCPS said it created a gap in funding for its 2019 Master Facilities Plan, which is being funded by a half-penny sales tax, approved by voters in 2020.
“This is not what citizens in Atlantic Beach chose when they voted for the half-penny school tax," another neighbor said.
Ford says the city commission will unite with Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach to save their school.
Neighbors will do the same and plan to show up in numbers at Tuesday’s DCPS board workshop where the proposal and the future of Atlantic Beach Elementary will be discussed.
“[We will go] Unified with the rest of the beaches, to go to the Duval County School Board, as a unit and with one voice to make sure we can try to save these schools that are performing,”- neighbor, Colleen November, said.