- April 24, 2024
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Could the beachside see a K-8 school? It's a possibility Volusia County Schools is considering.
Talks about a merger between Osceola Elementary and Ortona Elementary have been in the works since June 2019, and in March, the District conducted neighborhood meetings at both schools to discuss building a new elementary school at one of the two existing sites. Now, the School Board is exploring whether a three-story K-8 school at either Ortona or Osceola could be a better option, despite the small acreage in both.
“A K-8 is the way to go," said School Board member Carl Persis during the special virtual school board meeting on April 14.
The Board was presented with plans for a K-8 at both sites, neither of which were shown at the previous neighborhood meetings. Because Osceola Elementary spans 13 acres and Ortona spans 11 — K-8 schools typically require 22 acres based on the VCS presentation — both schools would have to incorporate a three-story classroom building and not have much room for athletic amenities.
If the Board goes with the Osceola plan, the project could cost just under $45 million; A K-8 at Osceola would cost around $43 million. At this point, the District is only considering options to build on an unoccupied campus, meaning once a site is picked and construction begins, students from the affected school will be temporarily housed at the other campus. Once construction is completed (December 2022 for a K-8 school or June 2022 for a new elementary), VCS could utilize the vacated school property to house a VPK program.
Persis favored the Osceola site because Ortona Elementary has a newer building onsite that cannot be torn down, and he felt the new traffic flow in Osceola's plan (with parent access to the school on Seminole Avenue) was better.
However, despite being the larger of the two sites, Osceola has other challenges: it's L-shape configuration, stormwater issues, and proximity to the ocean.
These were reasons why School Board member Linda Cuthbert said she was leaning toward the Ortona Elementary site. But, she reminded the Board they all needed to be realistic. A K-8 would be "marvelous," she said, but that decision couldn't be made without input from the residents surrounding the property, especially if the new plan is to go up to a three-story building.
“That’s a pretty drastic change to do to a neighborhood that surrounds each of the two schools," she said.
The only way to have a K-8 at either site is to build a three-story classroom building, confirmed Steve Grube, VCS director of planning and construction. A comparable school in the presentation was Holly Hill School, which has a two-story classroom building, but is on a 19.2 acre site.
The second comparable school in the presentation was Audubon Park K-8 in Orange County. That has a three-story classroom building, and is located on 13.25 acres.
“It just can’t be done," said Grube about the possibility of building a two-story K-8 at Osceola or Ortona.
Because the plans weren't shown in the neighborhood meetings, the Board decided to direct District staff to reach out to families, teachers and administrative staff at both schools to receive feedback before the Board make a decision at its meeting on May 12.
“The last thing we want to do is have to assume that they would want this middle school," School Board Member Ruben Colón said. "We would want that feedback before we make a decision whether or not to go [to a] K-8.”
Due to COVID-19, a new neighborhood meeting cannot be held.
