APOLLO BEACH, Fla. — A group of parents in south Hillsborough County are rallying around an initiative to transform their local elementary school into a K-8 school.
“That’s what we are in Apollo Beach. We are a family,” said Jessica McNeave, who has two kids at Apollo Beach Elementary.
"Apollo Beach Elementary is fabulous,” said Colleen Bianucci, an Apollo Beach Elementary parent.
Over the past few months, they’ve been part of a push from some parents for Apollo Beach Elementary School to become a K-8 school.
“We have neighborhoods and shopping centers popping up left and right, but we feel that our schools aren’t keeping up with the growth,” said Bianucci.
The parents pointed to what they say is a lack of middle school options in the area for their students and said that families sometimes opt to go to charter or private schools.
“Any time a student leaves the public schools and attends a charter school or private school, the money that goes with the kids, the FTE funds, leaves the school district," said Bianucci.
Families have turned out to recent school board meetings, and some parents even reached out to ABC Action News about their concerns. Parents said they think a K-8 would create a better connection for their kids.
“You’re not going to have the transition from the fifth grade to sixth grade to get more familiar with new teachers,” said McNeave.
ABC Action News reached out to both the Hillsborough County School Board and the district.
School board member Lynn Gray said she’s been a supporter of this K-8 initiative, explaining it’s an issue she and other school leaders have been looking into.
Board member Jessica Vaughn said while she hasn’t gotten any information from operations about the logistics of this plan, she met with a group of parents. For her, she said it comes down to logistics and that she has concerns about whether this plan is financially feasible, though in general, Vaughn said she’s been a supporter of K-8 models.
“We’re not looking for a fancy auditorium, a big gymnasium,” said Bianucci. “We just really want a good, viable public option that’s going to suit our kids’ academic needs.”
Parents said they again plan to go to the next Hillsborough County School Board meeting on Feb. 6.
