Florence superintendent outlines plan to shift to K–6 and create standalone 7–8 middle schools; implementation set for July 2025

Superintendent Chris Knutson announced that Florence Unified School District plans to reconfigure grade spans to K–6 for elementary schools, establish standalone seventh- and eighth-grade middle schools and keep high schools at grades 9–12, with implementation targeted for July 2025. “I’m here today to give you an update on some work that’s been going on in FUSD for over a year now,” Knutson said.

The district began community outreach in 2024, including parent and staff surveys and public presentations. Knutson summarized the survey results in the presentation: the transcript reports that 56% of parents “strongly agreed” and 23% “agreed” with the proposed model; among employees the transcript reports 76% “strongly agreed” and 14% “agreed.” (A transcription artifact appears in the recording at the start of the survey block; the…