Pinellas County Schools move forward with closures, consolidations as enrollment declines district wide
Pinellas County discusses school consolidation
The Pinellas County School District voted on Tuesday night to close two schools at the end of this school year. FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis shares how this is an ongoing problem as enrollment declines.
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Pinellas County Schools is moving forward with closing two campuses and consolidating others after the School Board approved a first round of changes under the district’s "Planning for Progress" effort.
What we know:
The board voted to close Cross Bayou Elementary in Pinellas Park and Disston Academy in Gulfport at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
District leaders acknowledged the decision is emotional for families and neighborhoods, but say empty seats and aging buildings made it necessary.
Big picture view:
Superintendent Kevin Hendrick called school closures a major decision for any community.
"Closing a school in a neighborhood is a significant decision," Hendrick said.
District leaders point to a sustained decline in the school-age population, including fewer kindergarten students now compared to a decade ago.
This school year the district saw 68 percent enrollment compared to 87 percent ten years ago.
Factors include decreased birth rates in Pinellas County and affordability pressures that have pushed some families out of the county.
School board members say since the plan was announced, staff has made efforts at various meetings to assure parents of a smooth transition and highlight the benefits of the changes.
The other side:
Perhaps that’s why only one family came to speak against closing Cross Bayou.
"I hope all ya’ll reconsider what you are doing to cross bayou elementary and the people who care about it," said student Malachi Gerke.
Why you should care:
The district also says underused campuses are costly to maintain.
Planning documents list Cross Bayou at about 40% utilization (capacity 610) and estimate $5.1 million in upcoming capital improvement needs, while Disston is listed at 20% utilization (capacity 311) with at least a million in repairs needed.
Alongside the closures, the board voted to create a K-8 by combining Bay Point Elementary and Bay Point Middle on the middle school campus beginning in 2027-28, and expand Oldsmar Elementary into a K-8 starting in the 2026-27 school year.
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Board members emphasized the district already has K-8 models and said they can be structured so younger students are kept separate from older grades.
"Kindergartners are not going to be side by side with 8th graders. We have K-8 models already in the district that are highly desired. We cannot say enough good things about them," said school board member Dawn Peters.
What's next:
District leaders say no school-based staff members will lose their jobs as a result of the changes, and employees will be offered placements elsewhere in the district.
The Source: FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis gathered this information from the Pinellas County School meeting, Pinellas County Schools "Planning for Progress" overview documents and previous reporting by FOX 13.