The Marion County School Board on Oct. 16 received a multi‑option plan to address low utilization and aging facilities on the county’s North End. Staff presented four concepts, related costs and a staff recommendation: implement Concept 1 (relocate Fordham Early Learning Academy students to Reddick Collier Elementary with hub transportation options) and Concept 3 (combine SPAR and Anthony Elementary into a single new campus or expand SPAR) as a coordinated two‑phase strategy.

Background: The review was requested by the board earlier in the summer to examine four North End elementary schools (Anthony, Fessenden, Reddick/Collier and Spar) and options for the district’s Bridgeway alternative program, which is exceeding capacity. Staff also framed the discussion with a new state rule allowing the co‑location of “Schools of Hope” on underused public school property, creating urgency to reduce underutilized spaces.

Key data and options presented:
- Current utilization: Reddick/Collier was reported at about 46% utilization (enrollment ~320; FISH capacity about 686 before any adjustments); Anthony and other North End schools also operate well under the district’s larger building capacities. Staff noted Building 10 at Reddick has 113 student stations that could be repurposed for district office or program use, which would reduce Reddick’s official FISH capacity and increase its utilization percentage.
- Concept 1 (lower‑cost option, est. $15,000): Relocate Fordham Early Learning Academy’s pre‑K–2 students to Reddick Collier (use hub stops and younger‑student bus seating) and move Bridgeway to the larger vacated Fordham campus. Staff emphasized Fordham’s program identity would remain (a “school within a school”) and said moving Bridgeway would free a large three‑story building suitable for central office consolidation.
- Concept 2 (convert 4 elementaries to K–8; est. $76 million): Convert the four elementary campuses to K–8s by adding wings, labs, CTE and gym space. Staff noted high capital cost and that converted small K–8s would likely continue to operate at a deficit given current neighborhood populations.
- Concept 3 (SPAR+Anthony consolidation; est. $26M–$50M): Build a new combined elementary for SPAR and Anthony (roughly 750 seats) behind the SPAR campus or expand SPAR with a wing and a new cafeteria. A new combined campus would reduce long‑term maintenance bills on older buildings and could pay down net operating costs over a multi‑year horizon.
- Concept 4 (move Anthony students to Reddick; est. $15,000 retrofit): Combine Anthony and Reddick without major construction and repurpose the Anthony site as an elementary ESE (center) school serving concentrated special‑needs services.

Staff recommendation and rationale: After weighing costs, capacity and program needs, the project team recommended a two‑part approach: implement Concept 1 quickly to relieve Bridgeway’s overcrowding and enable consolidation of district administrative staff into vacated space; then pursue Concept 3 (a new combined SPAR/Anthony campus) as a longer‑term capital project to reduce deferred maintenance and operating costs. Staff framed Concept 1 as logistically achievable in time for the next school year; Concept 3 would require a multiyear capital timeline and board direction on sequencing within other projects.

Community reaction and next steps: Dozens of public commenters — including Fordham parents, current Fordham teachers and Madison Street parents — urged the board to preserve Fordham’s program identity and cautioned that many Fordham families would not follow a relocation. On Madison Street, staff and several board members discussed a possible program model in which Madison (grades 3–5) and Fordham (PK–2) would share a campus so Fordham students could bridge directly into Madison; staff agreed to host a public information meeting (school community forum) at Fordham on Oct. 27 and to circulate a short survey of Madison families ahead of that meeting. Administrators also flagged the need for further analysis of bussing impacts, ESE student routing and the timing of any capital project decisions; staff will return with more detailed cost and transportation modeling.

No formal board votes were taken Oct. 16. The board asked staff to collect community feedback, refine cost estimates and return with options for a follow‑up discussion on Nov. 6 and to place a public community meeting on Oct. 27 at Fordham to gather input from families.