Jacksonville NAACP President Isaiah Rumlin speaks Dec. 11, 2023, about Jacksonville's unified Martin Luther King Jr. breakfasts. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on April 30, 2024 at 1:50 pm
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The Jacksonville Chapter of the NAACP is asking parents, educators and students to come together for a town hall Tuesday night to discuss Duval County’s plan to close and consolidate dozens of schools within the district.
The NAACP wants to discuss why schools are closing after voters approved a half-cent sales tax to build and maintain campuses.
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Both the interim Duval County Public Schools superintendent and School Board president will be at the town hall meeting at 6 p.m. at the Beaver Street Enterprise Center, 1225 West Beaver St.
The district is discussing the closures of nearly 30 Duval County schools to make up for a $1.4 billion gap in the budget.
The potential closure could eliminate a handful of magnet schools, saving the district close to $77 million.
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In a statement, the Jacksonville NAACP Branch is questioning why the closures are necessary after voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase in 2020 and a millage rate increase in 2022.
The district maintains that the plan to consolidate is primarily fueled by a drop in enrollment as more students attend private and charter schools. The district lost 30,000 students over the last 10 years.
The district already informed employees that more than 700 positions could also be cut because of dwindling enrollment and the loss of COVID-19 relief funds.
The NAACP is urging community members to attend Tuesday night’s meeting to voice their concerns to the school district.
