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Board leans toward revised ‘Option D’ rezoning plan after hours of public opposition
Summary
After more than two hours of public testimony, the Alachua County School Board signaled support for a redrafted “Option D” in its Our Schools: Future Ready plan while directing staff to return with targeted data on zoning exceptions, program relocations, and concurrency before the March 12 special meeting.
The Alachua County School Board moved March 3 to advance a revised “Option D” framework for its Our Schools: Future Ready rezoning plan after an extended public hearing that featured dozens of speakers urging delay or alternatives.
The board’s discussion followed a presentation from John Gilworth of JB Pro, who described updates requested at a recent workshop: consolidating Alachua and Irby into a K–8, reassigning neighborhoods to reduce the number of under‑capacity elementary schools from nine to five, and presenting options to relocate the Foster STEM magnet to Metcalfe or Rawlings to improve utilization. "What you're going to see tonight is an update from the meeting that we had last week," Gilworth said, summarizing staff and consultant work on capacity and neighborhood shifts.
Why it matters: speakers from East Gainesville and student groups said the plan risks losing neighborhood anchors and deepening inequities. Dozens of parents, students…
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