MELROSE, Fla. —
The vote on the Putnam County School District’s new revitalization plan is happening Tuesday.
It would close five schools while opening nine new ones in the next 10 years.
But now, it would only close four.
At first, Melrose Elementary School was set to close if the revitalization plan passed.
Now, it will remain open. This change stems in part from a parent-led community effort.
When Jackie Huntley first heard the news, her stomach dropped.
“You plan for your kids’ futures, for that environment that they grow up in,” she said.
The updated change comes after finding a new K-6 configuration plan at Melrose for students, along with the wide range of concerns over shutting down.
Superintendent Rick Surrency provided a statement to Action News Jax:
“We had a facilities work group who made suggestions regarding all of our elementary schools in the district being changed to a K-6 configuration. With the new K-6 configuration, Melrose elementary would have enough students to fill their capacity. Therefore it would not be necessary to close the school at this time. When we do build a new elementary school on that site in the future, it will be essential to provide portables for students to be in while construction is taking place.”
The portables cost $50,000 for one year. Huntley and the Facebook group “Save Melrose Elementary” have raised over $25,000 to help, sending the money to a “Friends of MES” nonprofit.
However, Huntley said the money won’t be due unless the district secures its funding.
“I think that, while small, played an important role in making the new plan viable,” Huntley said.
Thank you cards to the school poured in and Huntley’s two youngest kids, Connor and Jillian, who both attend Melrose, were happy to know they can be with friends again.
The parents at Melrose elementary school say there’s a much bigger picture to it all.
While they’re classmates within the doors, outside of them, these students are a close-knit community and family.
Taking that away would be devastating.
“It would leave a void in the community,” Huntley said. “It’s a one-intersection community and the school is the anchor.”
The vote for the plan will happen tomorrow.
Huntley says coming together to help make ends meet is a lesson she hopes is acknowledged in the future.
Cox Media Group
