NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Public Schools leaders held two public meetings Thursday to discuss a preliminary consolidation plan, which includes recommendations on which 10 schools to close within the district.
The recommended plan, put together by a consultant team, was recently shared. It includes the 10 schools the team identified for closing, five schools to be re-purposed, and schools to be rebuilt.
The plan still needs to be voted on by the school board.
Schools recommended to close (students will relocate to other schools):
- Willoughby Early Childhood Center
- Granby Elementary
- Tarrallton Elementary
- Norview Elementary
- Lindenwood Elementary
- Norfolk Technical Center
- P.B. Young Elementary
- Ghent School
- Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs Facility
- Berkley-Campostella Early Childhood Center
Schools recommended to be re-purposed:
- Oceanair Elementary
- St. Helena Elementary
- Monroe Elementary
- Lake Taylor High School
- Chesterfield Academy
Schools recommended to rebuild:
- Suburban Park Elementary
- Jacox Elementary
- Maury High School
School recommended to renovate:
- Sewells Point Elementary
More details on the recommendations are available in the link below.
Norfolk
Documents show proposed plans for Norfolk schools restructuring
At the two meetings, members of the public weighed in on the recommended plan.
Some families that went to the meeting at Booker T. Washington High School expressed concerns with students possibly integrating with older kids.
"We want to give them a type of support that the bigger kids don't need because they're just learning how to integrate with the community when they're in those lower grades. They need training and support," said one attendee.
The second meeting at Granby High School, concerned families and some Norfolk educators voiced their views.
"I came out to express my concerns about the school system, the reconstruction, and how it's going to affect our children, particularly the special needs children" said Dominique Wilson a concerned Norfolk parent.
Norfolk public schools currently has 30 public elementary schools and early childhood centers. Consultants say closing schools would ease financial. The school district has more seats available than students enrolled.
"This is tough stuff, but what's also really tough is holding on to more schools then you can afford to operate at a high level" said David Sturtz, the Lead Consultant of Norfolk Schools preliminary plan.
Victoria Francis, a Norfolk educator says her nieces attend Granby Elementary, one of the schools that could close.
She believes the schools need to be revitalized, not necessarily closed.
"It would be nice if they can rebuild Granby, it was in the plan before, but I don't know if I would like it to be. But I don't know if it makes sense anymore, especially seeing the heat map and the location of where the students are" said Victoria.
The plans aren't set in stone. After Thursday's public session, consultants will gather everyone's feedback and share it with the school board on July 8th. The school board will have until August 1st to finalize a plan. The district would then close two schools a year starting before the 2026-2027 school year.
