Pasco school board votes to close and merge 3 schools

LAND O’LAKES — The Pasco County School Board unanimously voted Tuesday to close three declining schools in New Port Richey and consolidate them into a single K-8 campus for the upcoming school year, citing academic and financial benefits.

The plan is to close Calusa Elementary, Chasco Elementary and Chasco Middle and merge them into the Chasco campus.

“I see this as an opportunity for us to bring a K-8 school to West Pasco, in an area where we don’t really see a new school going up,” said board member Cynthia Armstrong.

She said the effort aligns with the district’s mission to provide all children with a full range of educational opportunities.

Board member Al Hernandez agreed, adding that the proposal is intended to use the district’s financial resources as efficiently as possible.

“Closing a school is never fun. Nobody likes it,” Hernandez said. “This is not a takeaway. This is a community improvement.”

Three local residents have informed the school board that they are against the merger.

Wyatt Grinage, whose daughter attends Calusa, said he worries that Chasco’s school buildings don’t have enough space to accommodate all of Calusa’s children. He expressed concern about traffic at Chasco, which is on busy Ridge Road, and noted that many Calusa families live too close to the bus, so they would likely drive to campus.

Board members stressed the importance of providing crossing guards and educating children on how to properly cross the street. Assistant Director Betsy Kuhn said the district expects to expand the Chasco drop-off and pickup loop to accommodate additional cars, and told the board that the campus has enough space to accommodate the 1,620 students expected to arrive once some adjustments are made.

The most important thing, according to Grinage, is that many parents are angry about the idea of ​​losing their neighborhood school.

“We’ve grown to love the staff at Calusa,” he said, noting that many may not move to Chasco with the students. “When I think about it, it breaks my heart. Because this school is the foundation of our community.”

District officials say most teachers will move with the students and other employees will be relocated but not lose their jobs.

Former County Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick criticized the board for a lack of transparency in presenting the concept.

“The parents I spoke to today were still not aware of the change and staff were told it was a done deal,” Fitzpatrick said.

The proposal first became public on Aug. 29, when the school district sent text messages and emails to families and held meetings with staff members from the three schools.

It came as a surprise to most in the community. But the concept had been brewing behind the scenes for months as district officials debated various options for dealing with declining enrollment in the West Pasco region.

Calusa Elementary is currently at 65% capacity, while Chasco Middle is at around 73%. Chasco Elementary is at about 95% capacity.

The superintendent’s leadership team told board members the district could save money with a consolidated school by eliminating redundant staff positions, such as cafeteria workers, secretaries and assistant principals. Because the three schools are less than a mile apart and Calusa students are scheduled to attend Chasco Middle for sixth grade, a shift to a single kindergarten through eighth grade school on the Chasco campus should go relatively smoothly, they reasoned.

While some families were open to the change, the concept irritated others. including those unhappy that the Ridgewood High school district, which is next to Calusa, closed six years ago and converted it into a technical high school.

This latest proposal is one of several that the board has considered to address declining enrollments on the fringes while the population in the central part of the province to pop.

Two years ago, the district closed Mittye P. Locke Elementary due to low enrollment and converted it into an early learning center.

Four years ago, Hudson Elementary School was closed and merged with Northwest Elementary. Northwest Elementary was renamed and restructured with the middle schools on the Cobra Way campus.

Six years ago, the administration asked the board to close Lacoochee Elementary as well. But the board refused, citing the school’s importance as a hub for the isolated rural community it serves.