Starke may not close

Because of the budget crunch, School Board members are taking a second look at their plan to close the small DeLand elementary

By Jennifer Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Nov 7, 2009 - 2:25:14pm

The clock is ticking for Edith I. Starke Elementary School in DeLand, which is slated to close after the current school year ends.

Now, a lack of funds may stop that clock, at least for a while.

Because money is tight, projects to create more classroom space are being postponed. Without that extra space, there’s nowhere for Starke students to go, without contributing to school overcrowding.

Volusia County Schools Superintendent Margaret Smith is scheduled to make a recommendation at the Nov. 10 School Board meeting about whether to close Starke.

A spokeswoman in Smith’s office said the superintendent’s recommendation will not be made public until the meeting.

In 2008, the Volusia County School Board voted to close seven small schools, including Starke in the Spring Hill neighborhood of Southwest DeLand. The students were to go to larger, newer schools.

The consolidation plan was unpopular with parents and community members who love the small schools. The School Board said, however, it would save money.

Now Starke will get a second look and — depending on the will of the School Board — a second chance.

DeLand City Commissioner Leigh Matusick, the city’s representative on a School Board planning committee, said a decision to keep Starke open would be solely the domain of the School Board, but the possibility does exist.

Capital projects, including replacement schools, are being pushed back.

“George Marks [Elementary] was slated to be demolished and be rebuilt,” Matusick said. “That has been taken off the table for at least five years.”

During a recent presentation, school-planning-committee members were told Volusia County likes its schools to be between 90 percent and 105 percent capacity.

If the George Marks replacement is not built, and Starke is closed, elementary schools in the DeLand area could become more crowded than that.

Saralee Morrissey, director of site acquisitions and intergovernmental coordination for Volusia County Schools, confirmed the plan to build a new George Marks has been pushed back, and that does have an effect on the capacity of DeLand-area elementary schools.

The student population on the west side of Volusia County, Morrissey said, continues to grow, while the population in other areas of the county has decreased.

“It’s created a dilemma that we had not anticipated,” Morrissey said.

On the agenda for the Tuesday, Nov. 10, School Board meeting is an item titled: Status of Starke Elementary School Closure. The superintendent recommends approval of her recommendation in regard to whether Starke Elementary should remain in operation after June 30, 2010.

“I don’t know what her recommendation will be,” Morrissey said.

Community leader Clarence “Bo” Davenport said he knows what his recommendation is: Leave Starke open.

“It’s a community school,” he said. “The kids are within walking distance of the school. It’s an A school. Leave the school open. We have a lot going on at Starke.”

West Volusia NAACP President David Staples agrees with Davenport.

“There are so many things going on there at Starke,” Staples said. “We can’t understand why they’re closing the school.”

When the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People asked about stimulus money to help save Starke, Staples said, the group was told the money was used for other things.

“George Marks and Woodward are overcrowded. Why not rezone and put those kids back at Starke?” Staples asked. “If it’s rezoned, there will, hopefully, be enough students to keep it open.”

Currently, about 80 children are bused to Starke. If the school closes, Staples said, more than 300 children will have to be bused out of their neighborhood.

He pointed out this will create hardships on students who would wake up earlier and get home later. And, it could create hardships for parents who don’t have transportation.

“We hope they will take another look at this,” Staples said.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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