Sarasota County School Board on Nov. 7 approved a package of changes aimed at keeping students in district-managed schools and reshaping facilities to address enrollment shifts and new state policy pressures. The board voted 5–0 to approve an updated Educational Plant Survey and to authorize the superintendent to implement the “Future Focused Strategic Initiative,” which includes converting four elementary schools to K–8 campuses, reconfiguring several middle schools, and moving Brookside toward a countywide magnet program.

Superintendent Conner described the initiative as an effort to "secure our programmatic offerings" and said "the heavy lifting of the plan really focuses around the conversion of our current k fives into K eights." He said the district is targeting Alta Vista, Brentwood, Gulf Gate and Wilkinson for conversion over the next three years and that Brookside will be impacted as part of boundary and program changes.

Why it matters: Converting K–5 sites to K–8s reduces the number of transitions students face between elementary and middle grades, which the superintendent said supports stronger relationships and academic continuity. The district described the conversions as a tool to retain students who otherwise might leave for charter options and to stabilize neighborhood-based enrollment patterns.

Key numbers and staffing: District projections presented at the meeting estimate roughly 171 students would "roll up" into the converted schools (fifth graders remaining on site to become sixth graders), and the district identified about 130 students who left fifth grade for charter schools in sixth grade who could be recaptured. As a result of the overall enrollment changes the district calculated a net increase of 12 instructional units across the four K–8 conversions. School-level changes presented by the district included projected student losses of about 16 at Booker Middle School, about 50 at McIntosh, and about 192 at Brookside; Sarasota Middle School would gain students because of boundary adjustments. The staffing model anticipates Booker losing one instructional unit, McIntosh two, Sarasota gaining four, and Brookside losing one.

Budget impact and revenue assumptions: The superintendent presented an instructional cost increase of roughly $1.3 million for the four K–8 models, with a net cost shown as approximately $1,297,000 and a noted increase at Sarasota Middle of about $432,000. Conner also said the district expects to recoup revenue if students who would have left for charters remain in district schools; he presented a conservative example in which recapturing 90–100% of those students could produce a modest net revenue increase (the presentation cited an illustrative figure of about $27,000 under one set of assumptions). He repeatedly characterized the fiscal figures as projections.

Capital recommendations and Castaldi analysis: The plan includes capital recommendations drawn from a Florida Department of Education review. Conner said the district has submitted or will submit Castaldi analyses — a state-required analysis that compares repair/renovation costs to replacement — and that two specific buildings, Alta Vista and Fruitville Building 5, were identified as candidates for demolition based on that analysis. He emphasized that demolition requires state review and approval and is not a unilateral local decision.

Public comment and community concerns: More than a dozen public commenters addressed the plan. Several speakers, including Julie Forrester, a parent, praised the plan and urged more accessible meeting times; Forrester said the district should "make sure everyone can engage" and asked the board to return to two monthly meetings with staggered start times. Other commenters supported the district’s effort to protect public schools from state policy changes; Jamie Barrett and Lisa Sher said the plan represented necessary leadership. Several residents raised concerns about the pace of change, neighborhood impacts (traffic, parking and safety), special education assignments if sites are repurposed, and the effects of the state "Schools of Hope" provision that allows charter operators expanded access to public facilities. Elizabeth Hall urged the board to slow the process, saying the proposals were "not minor adjustments" and risked disrupting neighborhoods and stability for families.

Board discussion and vote: Board members repeatedly praised the staff work while acknowledging the timeline was accelerated. Several members—Ziegler, Barker, Edwards and Rose—commended community engagement and staff analysis, and stressed that legally required items (land sales, contracts) would return to the board for approval. The board approved the updated Educational Plant Survey and the facilities optimization and program expansion plan, each by a 5–0 vote.

Votes at a glance: The board recorded two formal approvals tied to the meeting agenda. Item 1: Approve updated Educational Plant Survey and associated capacity adjustments and site-specific forms (passed 5–0). Item 2: Approve Facilities Optimization and Program Expansion Plan (Future Focused Strategic Initiative) and delegate authority to the superintendent to implement agreements and MOUs as allowed by policy (passed 5–0).

What’s next: The district will file the approved Educational Plant Survey with the Florida Department of Education and proceed with implementation steps under the delegated authority; any legally required land sales, contracts, or other actions that require board approval will be returned to the board. The superintendent and staff signaled they will continue community meetings and forward financial updates as parts of implementation are developed.

Attribution: Remarks quoted in this article are taken verbatim from the district meeting record and are attributed to speakers as identified during the Nov. 7 meeting.