Final word on Pinellas schools closings and consolidations Tuesday

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Parents and students at a handful of Pinellas County schools should have a final answer Tuesday night on whether their school will be closing or consolidating at the end of the school year.

School board members in Pinellas County are slated to vote Tuesday on five recommendations made by Superintendent Kevin Hendrick and district staff.

They include closing Cross Bayou Elementary School, closing Disston Academy, combining Bay Point Elementary and Bay Point Middle into a K-8 school, expanding Oldsmar Elementary to a K-8 school, and expanding the employee child care program to McMullen-Booth Elementary.

Hendrick said the move to close or consolidate schools is in an effort to cut operational costs and reduce the amount of student seats available due to declining enrollment.

Cross Bayou Elementary is the only elementary school recommended for closure. District staff said the aging building is in need of roughly $5.1 million in capital improvements in the coming years, including a new roof. If approved, the district hopes to sell or lease the property as-is after students depart for the final time in May. They expect to save about $3 million a year by closing the school.

This school year, Cross Bayou Elementary has 245 students with a maximum capacity of 610 students. This is a big drop from its peak of 427 students during the 2018-2019 school year. The school also houses the district’s Deaf/Hard of Hearing program, which would be relocated to Walsingham Oaks K-8.

If the closure is approved Tuesday, most students would be rezoned to nearby Pinellas Central and Bardmoor elementary schools.

During a parent and family meeting earlier this month set at the school, more than 100 parents attended and many pleaded with district staff to keep the school open. They cited concerns with their students entering into larger schools and relocating the Deaf/Hard of Hearing program.

The school community, parent Jovanniece Morales says, is so accepting of students with different needs. Those students included her young son with vision problems.

“He’s done great since the teacher found out, and we all found his vision’s gotten worse, everybody’s been very helpful to make him feel welcome,” she said. “Like if we need to raise money to fix the roof, we’ll do that. We’ll raise the money to fix the roof.”

Parent Michael Gerke is also a school volunteer and says he knows most of the kids at Cross Bayou. He says school board members need to understand how unique Cross Bayou is. 

“They’re just in a really hard decision right now with what they want to do, and what they think is best,” Gerke said of Tuesday’s decision. “I do think they care — I don’t want to speak ill of them. I just think they picked the wrong school because of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing program and everything these kids face with everyday challenges.” 

Tuesday’s vote is set to take place at a school board meeting set for 5 p.m.