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Parents and teachers warn Merrill Roadmerger would create unsafe traffic and clinic capacity issues
Summary
Multiple parents, teachers and staff told the board Merrill Road Elementary cannot safely absorb Don Brewer students without professional traffic redesigns and capital improvements; district staff said they will provide traffic plans and enrollment modeling ahead of the Nov. 4 vote.
Community members pressed the Duval County School Board for safety and operational detail during the public hearing on the proposed consolidation of Don Brewer and Merrill Road elementaries.
Parents and staff said Merrill Road(about 357 students currently) lacks the parking, looped drop-off and school-resource officer presence necessary to safely manage nearly double enrollment if Don Brewerstudents moved there. "Merrill Road holds 357 students. If we're gonna combine an additional 281 students... I physically do not drop my child off at school," said Tamika Fitzpatrick, a Merrill Road parent who asked the board to commission a professional traffic study and to coordinate with city traffic engineers before approving any move.
Don Brewer staff and supporters countered that Don Brewerhas larger parking, a looped drive and more move-in-ready facilities. Several speakers proposed alternatives such as moving Merrill Road students into Don Brewer instead or pausing consolidation for one school year while renovations and a five-year plan proceed.
Teachers raised classroom-configuration and furniture issues, noting Merrill Road's pre-K and K-2 facilities (smaller toilets, furniture sized for younger children) may not be ready for upper-elementary cohorts without time and money to reconfigure. Angela Riley Maxwell, a Don Brewer paraprofessional, said the Merrill Road intersection currently operates at "200% capacity," cited the arrival of hundreds of nearby apartment units, and urged the board not to approve the consolidation for 2025-26 until community concerns are addressed.
District staff acknowledged the concerns. The superintendent and operations staff committed to providing traffic/drop-off designs and enrollment projections and to identifying where capital dollars would be required.
The board did not vote on the item at the hearing; the district will provide follow-up materials ahead of the Nov. 4 meeting when each consolidation will be considered as a separate agenda item.
