NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Public Schools held two community meetings Monday to address the planned consolidation of four schools set to close at the end of the 2026-27 school year.
Granby Elementary, Tarrallton Elementary, Lindenwood Elementary and P.B. Young Elementary are all scheduled to close as part of the consolidation plan, which Superintendent Jeff Rose says is driven by declining enrollment numbers.
"The concept here is that our resources should follow the needs should follow the need of the students not necessarily be funding some empty seats and so this concept truly is about consolidating our resources aligning to meet students," Rose said.
Sara Lichty, a parent with a third-grade daughter at Tarrallton Elementary, said she was caught off guard by the news.
"I was definitely shocked not happy with it at all," Lichty said.
Lichty raised concerns about the academic performance gap between Tarrallton and Little Creek Elementary, the school her daughter is set to attend.
"I think I was most upset about the fact that little creek is a low performing school severely low performing if you look at the state standards and district standards where as Tarrollton is a very high performing school," Lichty said.
Little Creek's principal acknowledged the data but said additional context is important.
"We have a high ESL population which at times with some of the students being new to the country that impacts our overall school standard we have though lots of support staff," the principal said.
Tarrallton families also raised questions about how bus routes will change for students transferring to a new school. Rose said transportation logistics are reviewed each summer.
"We have a very specific process on how we analyze where kids are therefor what should the pick up be and drop off be and that changes every summer," Rose said.
Students at Granby Elementary will be divided among Camp Allen, Monroe and Suburban Park elementary schools based on where they live.
Community meetings for the two remaining schools are scheduled for Tuesday, September 15. Lindenwood Elementary's meeting begins at 4 p.m., followed by a meeting for P.B. Young Elementary at 6:30 p.m.
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