Alachua school board approves revised attendance maps, delays Irby/Alachua consolidation after hours of public protest

The Alachua County School Board voted on March 12 to adopt revised attendance boundaries intended to "right‑size" the district’s enrollment and to move forward with plans for three K–8/pre‑K–8 conversions and facility investments, but the board carved out the proposed consolidation affecting Irby and Alachua schools and asked staff to bring back alternatives in May.

The board approved the revised elementary map (Option D, revised), the proposed middle‑school plan (Option C) and revised high‑school map by a 3–2 roll call. Dr. Rockwell made the motion to adopt the maps with an explicit exception for the Irby–Alachua consolidation and asked staff to return with options for keeping Irby open; Ms. Certain seconded. The motion passed with Dr. Rockwell, Ms. Certain and Chairman Vu voting yes; Dr. McNealy and Ms. Plavac voted no.

The vote followed nearly four hours of public comment from dozens of parents, teachers, students and elected officials who urged the board to pause the rezoning. Speakers described what they said was a rushed timeline, gaps in publicly available…