Tarpon Springs parents are pitching their own school consolidation plan to the Pinellas County School Board, pushing back against a district proposal they say would uproot their children.

Under the district's Planning for Progress initiative, Tarpon Springs Middle School and Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary would close. A new fundamental K-8 school would open on the middle school campus, as first reported by Tampa Bay 28 (WFTS). Parent Megan Delgado said the combined school would serve about 1,000 students. The change would also ripple into Clearwater, where some Tarpon Springs families send their children for the fundamental middle school model.

Parents propose a neighborhood K-8 alternative

The alternative drafted by families would instead merge Tarpon Springs Elementary and Sunset Hills Elementary. Some of those students would feed into Tarpon Springs Middle School as a local K-8 option, keeping middle schoolers in their neighborhood school rather than sending them to a larger fundamental campus.

"To go from a school that is 270 students to a school that's 1,000 would be shocking to me, and it would be shocking to my children," Delgado said.

Tarpon Springs resident Mary Cohn said the small-school culture at Tarpon Springs Fundamental cannot be replicated.

How the district plan reshapes enrollment

Both Tarpon Springs schools sit about half empty, according to Tampa Bay Beacons reporting. The proposed K-8 would add about 200 elementary seats and could draw families who attend Tarpon Springs Fundamental but travel to Clearwater for sixth through eighth grades. That shift could free seats at Clearwater Fundamental Middle School, which is nearly 90% full.

The Tarpon Springs proposal is one piece of a districtwide plan to close seven schools and save about $25 million a year. The district has roughly 45,000 vacant seats, and enrollment has dropped by about 20,000 students since the 2016-17 school year. Superintendent Kevin Hendrick has said no teachers or principals will lose their jobs, citing retirements and attrition.

As the Clearwater Sentinel reported Sept. 18, Bear Creek Elementary in Clearwater is also on the closure list.

Public comment and key dates ahead

The parents' group is collecting feedback to present to the board. On Sept. 10, School Board Chair Caprice Edmond urged families to submit questions online so board members and staff can address them.

The board takes public comment Tuesday in Largo. A community meeting for Tarpon Springs Fundamental is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 1. The board holds a workshop Oct. 6 and votes Oct. 13.