By a 4-0 vote, the Marion County School Board on Sept. 22 agreed to send Wyomina Park Elementary students to Oakcrest Elementary next year as part of a larger organizational plan.
The shift comes as the district implements its Future-Focused Operations Plan. School officials say the plan "addresses aging infrastructure, deferred maintenance, enrollment shifts, operational efficiencies, and educational opportunities through a phased approach to facility replacement, modernization, consolidation, and program expansion."
The plan covers 2026-27 to 2030-31. "Individual projects will be brought forward for School Board approval as funding and implementation timelines are finalized," it says.
At the August school board meeting, some audience members
voiced their opposition to the Wyomina Park reshuffling.
No one from the public spoke in favor or against the plan on Sept. 22. Wyomina Park students will be shifted to Oakcrest at the start of the next school year.
![A Wyomina Park Elementary School teacher directs students to both car pickup and the bus line after their first day of school Monday July 22, 2024, as the very first pilot school for the year-round school program in Marion County Monday, “Our school is full of learning and everyone went home safe this afternoon and we are so excited to represent the district as the very first year-round school program,” Principal Victoria Hunt said. All other schools in Marion County starts on Monday, August 12th. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]2024](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/07/22/NOSB/74504170007-oca-first-day-wyomina-park-10.JPG)
According to school officials, after the August meeting, a series of discussions, including community meetings, were held.
"Following these discussions and consideration of stakeholder feedback, the recommendation is to maintain the current plan," notes from the agenda item state.
Board Chair Sarah James, Vice Chair Lori Conrad, and members the Rev. Eric Cummings and Nancy Thrower voted yes to move forward with the plan. Board member Allison Campbell was absent from the meeting.
Future-Focused Operations Plan
Two years ago, Wyomina Park Elementary became the first Marion County school to operate year-round. It was part of a state pilot program, with Alachua and Brevard counties also participating.
Now that the board is moving ahead with the Wyomina plan, other schools, including Shady Hill Elementary, also will be affected. An alternative school that's presently housed at MTI will move to the Wyomina Park campus, officials said.
Some of the other changes mentioned in the Future-Focused Operations Plan: relocate Belleview Elementary to the former Lake Weir Middle campus for the 2027-28 school year; begin construction of the new north-end elementary school for 2028-29; and open the new north-end elementary school, combining Sparr, Anthony, and Reddick-Collier in the 2029-30 school year.
Under the heading cost savings, the plan states: "$150M deferred maintenance avoided and roughly $2M operating savings each year, compounding annually."
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Marion County School Board announces plan for Wyomina Park Elementary
