Pinellas County school district officials thought they had crafted a compromise for closing and consolidating under-capacity Tarpon Springs schools that had broad community support.
Then they heard from parents, residents and staff members at Sunset Hills Elementary School.
Sunset Hills wasn’t part of the district’s original proposal, which got panned over concerns that the city would lose its sole zoned middle school, forcing many children to travel to Palm Harbor for sixth through eighth grades.
The new recommendation that emerged put Sunset Hills in the mix, calling for it to relocate three blocks away into Tarpon Springs Middle, which would become a traditional K-8 school. The Sunset Hills campus would then house a fundamental K-8, with the Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary campus closing.
“Parents are upset,” said Danielle Lambart, a mom who started an online petition that quickly gathered hundreds of signatures. “They don’t want to give our school away.”
Lambart and about 150 other people sent that message to district officials Thursday during a nearly two-hour town hall meeting in the school’s cafeteria. They said the PTA leaders who helped write the plan that’s headed to the school board on Tuesday did not speak for the majority of parents and teachers.
Many in the crowd had concerns with the updated proposal, which board members had welcomed as a way to resolve the first round of complaints they heard.
They didn’t like the idea of moving prekindergarten to Tarpon Springs High. Several worried about the safety of elementary children in a middle school that isn’t build for the youngest grades.
Parent Diana Glinski, who teaches at Tarpon Springs Middle, feared that creating traditional and fundamental K-8 schools in such close proximity would divide their community. It would peel the most high-achieving and dedicated students away from the traditional campus, which would become known as the “bad school” and likely fail over time, she said.
Some parents brought different ideas to the table. Why not create a hybrid elementary and middle campus that offers both traditional and fundamental programs, similar to Dunedin High, suggested parent Irene Romero.
“Our poor babies are being treated like the red-headed stepchildren for the fundamental,” Romero said.
A handful of people contended that Tarpon Springs Elementary, which is bigger than Sunset Hills, should be included in the moves.
With so much at stake, many said, the district should take more time to evaluate the status and future of the schools in Tarpon Springs. They noted that earlier this week the board put off voting on a recommendation to close Sexton Elementary in St. Petersburg, in part because board members did not want to blindside families at other schools if they change the plan.
They said — some demanded — that the Sunset Hills community receive same courtesy.
“I think we can delay a vote so we can have everyone sitting at the table,” teacher Dawn Gomez said, mentioning that the staff learned of the latest proposal Monday morning.
“We just want more time and a better thought out plan,” said Alyssa Tatum, who has two children attending Sunset Hills.
School board member Lisa Cane did not attend the meeting Thursday, but said she had spoken with parents earlier in the day. After hearing their views, Cane said she would call for taking the Tarpon Springs recommendation out of consideration on Tuesday.
“I don’t see why a short delay would be a problem,” she said.
Tarpon Springs Vice Mayor Peter Koulias told the crowd that if they want to press the point, they should attend the board meeting in a show of force.
“Fill the the boardroom. That’s what it seems like it has come down to,” he said. “Bring 200 to 300 people. All of you showing up to a board meeting is a very, very powerful statement.”
As the meeting ended, several made plans to carpool to Largo for Tuesday’s session, which begins at 5 p.m.
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