School Meeting Reviews Disparities in Enrollment Parents, School Officials and Board Members Try to Solve Overcrowding.

By TIA MITCHELL

There are schools in Duval County with enrollment numbers that are half of their capacity. Nearby, however, are popular magnet schools that are bursting at the seams with students.

These disparities were discussed at a meeting at Raines High School on Monday, the third of four meetings scheduled as the first phase of the school system’s Academic and Community Excellence Plan.

This meeting focused on schools north of Interstate 10 and the St. Johns River.

That includes Oceanway, where growth has led to overcrowded schools. Even New Berlin Elementary School, which opened in 2006, is already at 130 percent of its capacity.

However, many schools near downtown and in Northwest Jacksonville are underutilized. All together, this region has 6,000 of the county’s 14,000 empty seats.

Nearly 20 schools in this area are operating at less than 75 percent of their capacity, causing concern for school officials who hope to even out enrollment systemwide.

“We need your help with that. What are we going to do with those schools?” said Richard Beaudoin, a school planner.

Monday’s meeting, like the three others in phase one, was organized to discuss the school enrollment trends and to explain why the school system is undergoing this comprehensive study.

Phase two, which will likely include a round of four more meetings, is slated for May. District officials say the dates and locations have not be identified, but these meetings will provide recommendations for the community to consider and comment on.

During the question and answer session at Raines, some audience members suggested busing students from other neighborhoods to underutilized schools, though at least one person expressed concern about students from A and B schools being re-districted to lower- performing schools.

Others suggested the district limit enrollment to magnet schools, which would force students to return to some of the neighborhood schools that have empty seats in the area. For example, LaVilla School of the Arts, a dedicated magnet school where all students have to apply to attend, is operating at 150 percent of its capacity.

School system officials said they support neighborhood schools and know that people want their children to attend school close to home, but they also acknowledged that the right program at the right school could draw interest from other parts of town.

School Board member Brenda Priestly Jackson encouraged the members of the audience to speak up with their suggestions, saying now is the time to tell the system what they want for their schools.

“Sometimes we have not because we ask not, right?” she said.tia.mitchell@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4425ONE MORE MEETINGThere is one more Academic and Community Excellence Plan meeting left in this first round discussion, focusing on enrollment and population trends at Duval County schools. That meeting is today at 6 p.m. at Forrest High School and will focus on schools south of Interstate 10 and west of the river.

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