NAPLES, Fla. — After months of discussing the inevitable rezoning, the Collier County School Board met for a work session to hammer out details, and with an audience.
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Parents, students question first rezoning proposal at CCPS meeting (fox4now.com)
During Wednesday's meeting, the district said up to 2,000 elementary students could be affected by the rezoning, but it is something Vice Chair Stephanie Lucarelli says has to be done.
"I've been requesting this rezone boundary modification for several years and with each year seeing the influx of people coming in realizing that the longer we wait and the more we kick this can down the road, the harder it's going to be for families,"Lucarelli said.
One elementary school, Laurel Oaks, is at a whopping 180% capacity, so the district says it's trying to alleviate that stress. However, a parents says it is ultimately affecting other schools as well.
"We're trying to make sense of a very confusing situation," said Stephanie Jonas, a Veterans Memorial Elementary parent. "Our concern has always just been that the focus needs to be out east and we don't understand why the west is getting affected."
A confusing situation throughout these meetings has now brought in parents and staff from Naples Park Elementary, which could be seeing the influx of new students.
"We want to move this behind us so that we can get back to just loving our kids and finishing off the school year knowing which direction we're heading towards in the fall," said Darcie Argabright, Naples Park teacher.
By the end of the meeting, it was clear that both staff and parents were just ready for an answer.
The school board will decide on either one of the two proposed plans or send the district staff back to the drawing board on May 14.
