Sarasota school district sets in motion sweeping vision for future

Pressed by a deadline and inspired by fiscal prudence, a sweeping rework of a dozen public school campuses is now Sarasota County Schools’ plan for the future, approved in a special board meeting last week.

The plan, seen for the first time in September, has broad designs to tempt families from charter, private or home options and eliminate more than 3,400 of about 5,600 empty seats in schools mostly in and around the city of Sarasota. How? By demolishing or repurposing buildings, combining grade levels and, in some cases, creating all-new educational offerings.

They also head off the closing of Sarasota’s Wilkinson Elementary, one of several early-years schools with enrollment below optimal levels.

Beyond simple inefficiencies of operating schools with one in two student seats occupied, lagging enrollment because of demographic shifts and additional school options has become an urgent issue with school districts statewide for another reason. Florida’s Schools of Hope laws, passed in 2017 and modified most recently this year, allow a range of charter schools the right to “co-locate” with public schools if space is available.

And in Sarasota County, space was available. 

On campuses affected by the plan, school district documents show, enrollment now ranges from 41% to 66% of capacity. Estimates show those rates climbing to 73% to 104% after plan implementation.

Though unanimous in their approval on Nov. 7 of what is dubbed a Strategic Initiative for Maximizing Utilization and Supporting Academic Excellence, school board members said most of the ideas probably would make financial and educational sense anyway. But urgency has been top of mind this academic year.

“I often hear it’s not because of Schools of Hope,’’ board member Tom Edwards said. “It is because of Schools of Hope. But I’ll point out to you that I would never approve this kind of conversation without a substantially more robust budget.’’

By voting on the plans Friday and then submitting them to the state education department, the school district beat by four days a window that opened Nov. 11, after which Schools of Hope operators could legally begin to submit co-location requests. Mater Academy of Hialeah Gardens, a $314.38 million company in 2024, had already sought space at three Sarasota County campuses, requests that the school district said arrived before the application window legally opened.

Photo by Ian Swaby

“Schools of Hope has really been an accelerant to something that has already been in process for a number of things,’’ board member Bridget Ziegler said, adding the rapid consideration of the proposals, first floated in early September, wasn’t ideal. “But I do think the leadership here has certainly illustrated their ability to execute with an extraordinary proposal. But also, the work that was done before this, looking at how do we strengthen our schools, how do we become more efficient, how do we optimize all of the space we have is truly being a good steward of taxpayer dollars.’’

Perhaps the broadest element of the plan is the conversion of four elementary schools — Alta Vista, Brentwood, Gulf Gate and Wilkinson — to K-8 campuses, beginning next school year with the addition of sixth grade, seventh in 2026-27 and eighth in 2027-28.

Connor said district estimates show about 170 fifth-graders at those schools now would likely remain in place for sixth grade instead of moving on to traditional middle schools. Connor said that another 130 students would likely have chosen a charter, private, or home-school option for sixth grade, which would have dropped them from the per-student formula that determines public-school state funding.

“The idea is that these students will remain with us as we move into this transition period,’’ he said.

Staffing adjustments at the new K-8 locations would coordinate with four existing middle schools to ensure the number of educators matches with new student populations. Connor said funding clawed back from the per-student formula would more than cover the expected increase in educator costs by about $27,000.

Photo by Ian Swaby

Parents who spoke at Friday’s meeting supported the ideas, but not universally.

“Converting four elementary schools into K-8 campuses and repurposing multiple middle schools will disrupt families and neighborhoods and affect the future of our childhood development, emotional safety and academic quality,’’ said Elizabeth Hall. “These proposals are not minor adjustments that you are deciding on, they are long-term decisions that are being rushed through.’’

Lydia Miller told school board members the notion of for-profit organizations running schools did not appeal to her.

“Private schools are a concern of mine, giving tax dollars to private schools for profit,’’ she said. “They are not accountable to taxpayers. They’re not.”

Two schools, Fruitville Elementary and Alta Vista Elementary, are slated to have buildings demolished. Connor emphasized that the older buildings — one from 1957 and one from 1970 — would likely be more expensive to renovate than demolish and were little used. And, he said, there is state oversight involved in razing public school buildings, a months-long process by which the district has abided.

“There just isn’t an avenue for a district to say ‘Hey, let’s just go tear down a building,’ ’’ he said. “There becomes a legal, binding process we have to go through, and that’s done in partnership with the Florida Department of Education.’’

In thanking school district staff and the community for supporting the proposal, school board member Liz Barker said it's no surprise that Sarasota is among the first districts in the state to draft a response to Schools of Hope.

“I'm thrilled to be a part of it, honored to be a part of it,'' she said. "It's thoughtful, it's student-centered, and it's grounded in what's best for Sarasota, now and for the future.’’