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Okaloosa board schedules hearings on Longwood, Mary Esther closures and rezoning; community voices concern
Summary
At a Jan. 12 workshop the Okaloosa County School Board set public hearings to consider closure plans for Longwood and Mary Esther elementary schools and proposed rezoning for several attendance areas; Mary Esther officials urged the board to weigh community identity and impacts.
The Okaloosa County School Board on Jan. 12 announced it will advertise public hearings on proposed closure plans for Longwood Elementary School and Mary Esther Elementary School and on a related rezoning plan that would redraw attendance boundaries for multiple schools.
The board placed Resolution 26-01 (Longwood) and Resolution 26-02 (Mary Esther) on the agenda for advertisement for a hearing, and also moved to advertise Resolution 26-03 proposing rezoning for students currently zoned to Mary Esther and Longwood and establishing new zones for Edmonds, Elliot Pointe, Florosa, Kenwood, Shalimar and Wright elementary schools effective with the 2026–27 school year. The items were presented as agenda matters to be discussed in detail at the board’s evening meeting.
Susan Coxwell, a Mary Esther city council member, addressed the board during the workshop’s public comment period and urged the board to consider the community cost of closing Mary Esther Elementary. “If you take our school away, you’re gonna take a part of our identity,” Coxwell said, describing the school as a civic cornerstone alongside churches, the library and parks.
Board members acknowledged the emotional nature of the comments and said the recommendation to pursue closures and rezoning was not made lightly. One member said additional information and a comprehensive report would be presented at the evening meeting so the board and public could review the data behind the proposals.
Superintendent’s staff framed the closure and rezoning items as separate from the state statutory process around school start times; staff cautioned that rezoning decisions potentially can affect individual school schedules but that the closure/rezoning proposals themselves are district decisions to be addressed locally.
No formal votes were taken at the workshop. The board’s next steps include the advertised public hearings and the comprehensive presentation scheduled for the evening meeting, after which the board may consider formal action at a subsequent session.
