The board reviewed feedback from a community survey with 994 responses, which overwhelmingly supported Option B.
How did parents respond to the districting changes?
About 10 parents spoke at the meeting, with some supporting and others opposing the approved proposal. Several parents expressed concerns about traffic congestion, student displacement and the impact of moving students away from their established communities.
Sarah Bernier, who favored Option B, highlighted the worsening traffic on Immokalee Road, particularly during the busy season, which coincides with most of the school year.
“Having a bunch of people, even if they’re taking buses, going from Stone Creek on the other side of I-75 going towards VME (Veterans Memorial Elementary) is going to cause more traffic issues and more issues to everybody in the area, not just students. It's going to be the whole community," Bernier said.
Another parent, Becky Allard, shared her personal experience when her daughter who’s in second grade struggled emotionally when her teacher was replaced mid-year due to staffing changes.
“Meanwhile, her school setting was the same. Her class was the same. Her friends were the same, all the faculty and teachers were the same, just the one teacher changed, and it was a struggle on a daily basis. I know pulling her out of VME would be devastating for her, especially because many of her friends would be divided,” she said.
Allard added the importance of staying at VME for their kindergartner, who has a severe allergy, as it allows them to respond quickly in case of an emergency.
“My point is that we all have reasons why we want to stay at our school, and these are mine. We are all here to do what's best for the children involved in the rezone and what is best is to impact less with Plan B.”
Why did some parents support Option A?
While many parents spoke in favor of Option B, one parent expressed her support for Option A.
Option A aimed to reduce overcrowding at Laurel Oak Elementary by moving about 2,100 students to other schools, impacting families west of I-75. The plan faced pushback from parents worried about traffic on Immokalee Road and the disruption to their communities.
Under this option, students at Riverstone, Stone Creek and Olde Cypress would relocate to Veterans Memorial, and families from Willoughby would shift to Pelican Marsh and those from Palm River and Imperial to Naples Park.
Jacqueline Ardoline said she believed that was the right option.
"Families have the option to stay at their existing school with Option A,” Ardoline said. "Laurel Oak is far over capacity. Naples Park is under capacity. We have empty classrooms. CCPS now has the means and the ability to fix these important issues with Option A."
Board member Kelly Mason recognized the challenges the board faced in making the decision.
"We’re five people sitting up here, and I know there's staff and very knowledgeable people involved in this whole process, but at the end of the day, we represent the public,” she said.
“When we heard the feedback, the priorities had shifted,” she said. “We took a lot of the feedback; said we’re going to take these priorities and create a different plan.”
