Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Parent pushback arises in response to Pinellas school closure proposal

tampabay.com · 23h · first reportShare

The big story: The pushback to Pinellas County’s proposal for shuttering seven schools and reconfiguring several others has begun. Shock and disappointment reigned at Sexton Elementary in St. Petersburg, where parents and staff members said they never saw the recommendation to close their campus coming. “When my 2nd grade daughter found out about the school being slated to close she immediately burst into inconsolable tears,” PTA president Jacquelyn Hussey told the Tampa Bay Times via email. “I had to explain to her that myself and other parents at the school are simply not going to let this happen without doing everything we can to keep her beautiful beloved school open.” She and others noted Sexton had a much higher fill rate than Woodlawn Elementary three miles to the south, and it also had received recent improvements. It would make more sense for Woodlawn to close and move into Sexton, they suggested. Their change.org petition to keep Sexton intact collected 411 signatures in thre