Only two days into the school year, teachers, parents and students from Wyomina Park Elementary in Ocala stood in a circle, holding hands and praying just minutes before the Marion County School Board meeting began.
They were part of a sea of red-and-black shirts. Wyomina Park was the only school to turn out in large numbers for the meeting.
MCPS approved its “Future-Focused Operations Plan,” which calls for reducing the number of elementary schools by four over the next five years.
Wyomina Park Elementary was the first school slated for closure, but the board amended the plan to delay a decision on rezoning its students. The rezoning will be discussed at community workshops in the coming weeks.
For the Wyomina Park community, the day of the vote was also their first chance to speak out against the proposed closure. The board had visited other schools up for consolidation, including Reddick-Collier, Sparr and Anthony, earlier this year, but did not visit Wyomina Park.
Lorraine Fuller was one of several Wyomina Park teachers who spoke during public comment.
“We didn't hear about the plan for our school, our students, teachers, staff,” Fuller said. “We only heard that Wyomina Park may be closing, and what's the plan?”
Sheliann Scheel, a third grade teacher, said many Wyomina Park students face economic and domestic challenges that other schools don’t have.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the per capita income in the neighborhood surrounding Wyomina Park, where many of its students live, was about $32,000 in 2024.
The school’s website also says Wyomina Park is a Title I school, meaning it receives federal financial assistance through the U.S. Department of Education. All students receive free breakfast and lunch, and about 85% come from economically disadvantaged homes.
“Our admin staff stay for hours long each night because they choose to spend their contract time each day in the classrooms and everywhere on campus,” Scheel said. “Staff at Wyomina work hard to ensure that students are fed, clean and clothed. Some even go so far as to take their free time to teach older students how to read recipes and cook because they know that the student is the one responsible for feeding their family.”
Samantha Silk is a former Wyomina Park teacher who changed career paths as a single mother. She said she still volunteers at the school because of how much she believes in its community.
“A lot of these students get left behind. They are bubble kids that are missed because they may not be the smartest and brightest because nobody pays attention,” she said. “If we did not show up today and they didn't hear from us, they would have just voted on it.”
Under the amended and approved consolidation plan, Sparr, Anthony and Reddick-Collier elementary schools will merge into a new north-end elementary.
In the southeast part of the county, students from Belleview and Belleview-Santos elementary schools will be combined eventually in a new school.
More than 400 Wyomina Park students would be rezoned to Oakcrest Elementary. Bridgeway Academy, MCPS’ only alternative school, would move into Wyomina Park’s building. The board’s amendment puts that rezoning plan up for further discussion.
Allison Campbell, the District 1 board member who represents both Wyomina Park and Bridgeway, pushed for the district to pause the proposal.
“I had the opportunity yesterday to be on both campuses, and watching myself in the cafeteria see a student ask, ‘Is my school going away next year?’” Campbell said. “Honestly, I was just about brought to tears.”
She added, “I don’t see the fairness, by any stretch of the imagination, of voting on something like this on the second day of school. It essentially puts a black cloud over a school for the entire school year. I can’t even fathom what that looks like.”
Ben Whitehouse, Marion County’s deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, first presented the plan during a board work session in July. The proposal, which was largely approved Tuesday night, brought back school consolidation plans the district had discussed last fall.
The district said the plan in the next 5 years will replace 11 aging facilities, close four schools and update existing buildings. It will also get rid of 86 of their 300 portable buildings, putting more students in brick and mortar classrooms.
Board members who supported consolidating Wyomina Park said the decision was based in part on the school’s enrollment and attendance. The school is not operating at full capacity and has struggled with attendance.
Lori Conrad, the District 2 board member, said she has an attachment to Wyomina Park, but the work of its staff will continue beyond the walls of Wyomina.
“When I look out here and I see red-and-black shirts, and I meet people at your school, I meet them on campus, you are the change,” Conrad said. “The building is historic, but you make the change in the lives of the students that you interact with every day, and I see that great work following you to the next campus.”
However, the teachers said after the meeting that they don’t have jobs guaranteed. They would have first choice of open positions, but they would still have to apply for those jobs at other schools.
Marion County estimates that, overall, the changes could save about $150 million in maintenance costs, plus another $2 million each year in operating costs.
The plan aims to shift the district away from costly, “reactive” repairs and toward long-term facility planning and modernization and better qualify for state and federal funding for major projects.
Play-by-play of the approved plan
Here is the district’s plan, as laid out in the meeting agenda. It tracks the reduction of campuses one by one. An asterisk (*) marks items that were amended and are up for further discussion.
2026-2027 School Year
- Open South Marion High School
- Completion of new walls and doors at Osceola Middle and East Marion Elementary
- Open new Technology and Information Center
- Install new turf field and rubberized track at West Port High School, planning to finish before end of football season for homecoming
- Plan to rezone Wyomina Park students for 2027-2028 *
- Balance enrollment at middle schools for 2027-2028
- Complete the condition assessment of existing facilities
2027-2028 School Year
- Open the replacement Lake Weir Middle School
- Belleview Elementary students move to the old Lake Weir Middle campus
- Wyomina Park Elementary students rezoned (reduced one campus) *
- Bridgeway students relocate to Wyomina Park campus *
- Fordham Academy expands to include a 3-5 magnet program *
- Begin constructing new Booster Stadium design (pending funding availability)
- Install new turf field at Belleview High School
2028-2029 School Year
- Open the replacement Belleview Elementary campus to combine with Belleview-Santos Elementary (reduce the second campus)
- Demolition of old facilities at Lake Weir Middle
- Possible construction of a new Early Learning Center in the south (pending funding availability)
- Begin construction of a new north-end elementary school to consolidate campuses
- Install new turf field at Belleview High School
2029-2030 School Year
- Open new north-end elementary school, combining Sparr, Anthony, and Reddick-Collier Elementary (reduce third and fourth campus)
- Begin construction on replacement of Dunnellon Middle and Dunnellon High School
- Begin construction of new Central Office, including School Board meeting space (pending funding availability)
- Install new turf field and rubberized track at Forest High School
2030-2031 School Year
- Construct a new wing for Maplewood Elementary to eliminate portable usage
- Building upgrades for Fort King Middle buildings 1 and 2
- Install new turf field and rubberized track at Lake Weir High School
