OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Marion County Public School Board discussed options for the Northend during its meeting on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, and will further discuss the matter at their work session on Thursday, March 5, 2026.

The previously postponed community conversation meetings have been rescheduled, with the first one being held at Sparr Elementary School on March 9, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Subsequent meetings will be held at Reddick-Collier, March 25, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Anthony Elementary School on March 26, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The community conversations were originally to begin Feb. 26.

However, not all of the comments Thursday came from behind the dais. Some came from a concerned parent during the meeting’s public comments portion.

Kayla Bowman spoke before the board as a parent from Sparr Elementary, one of the schools that would be affected by the rezoning and consolidation discussion.

“We at Sparr have heard that there will be possible rezoning in the near future,” said Bowman. “We already had plans of attending community meetings to address our concerns as it was, and now there has been a quick shifting of gears, that has somewhat blindsided our growing school upon reviewing the [MCPS board administrative briefing and work session] in its entirety. We have concerns in how it was handled, and at this time it seems wise of us, to pause and gather our own information and rally as a community, to bring our concerns to the table. At this time, we at a minimum, ask that you consider practicing that pause as well.”

Bowman went onto say that several school board members have stated publicly that they believe in exercising the right to school choice, with many families doing so and choosing Sparr over surrounding Northend elementary options.

“With this fast-track decision moving forward in 2026-2027, this leaves us with very limited choice by May when you plan on finalizing this, options for school choice, private school enrollment, home school funding would be closed, as well as time for proper placement for our devoted staff,” said Bowman. “This feels like a forced move to fill Reddick-Collier considering the goals listed in your previous meetings of utilizing Reddick’s space and preventing Schools of Hope from coming into our district were of top priority. As someone who believes in finding the root cause of chronic issues, and not just treating symptoms, I find it valuable to do the same in this situation. I have faith that you are all capable of doing that, and that closing Sparr to force kids to Reddick is only a band-aid for a chronic issue.”

Difficult discourse

Rev. Eric Cummings, Dist. 3, conveyed to the board and audience, that through his personal experience, sometimes it’s better not to say too much, and to listen to what people have to say, before sharing one’s thoughts.

“I know there’s going to be some tough questions and tough conversations,” said Cummings. “I heard from many folks from the Sparr community, the Anthony community and the Reddick community and the Northend community, and I heard from many people, and their concerns are legitimate. There are some things that we may not have taken into consideration that may need to be talked about. My stance is, and I want to make this clear, many of the calls and the communications I received, folks think that the decision has already been made. That is not so. The decision has not been made. “

The upcoming meetings for public input should yield a number of answers, but while expressing concerns, some will certainly be emotionally driven.

“There are going to be some hard conversations,” said Cummings. “There are going to be some hard decisions made, but your input is needed. Your concerns are needed. What you bring to the table adds value. I believe that any decision made can’t be made unless your input is there. We had some advisory committees in the presentation that Mr. Whitehouse gave. So, there was some committee input. But we also had some community meetings scheduled, and that’s where the other community input is going to come from. I am personally looking forward to that input we’re going to get. There are some decisions that are going to have to be made based on the financial situation of our district, and there will be some hard decisions, but I know they’ll be done in transparency. They’ll be done being fiscally responsible and they’ll be done with compassion, with common sense and community input.”

Dollars and sense 

Dr. Allison Campbell, Dist. 1, welcomed the opportunity to have all five board members at the table to have constructive dialog.

“I think that we got to a different place this past Thursday then where we had been before,” said Campbell. “I know that took a lot of people off guard, and I can completely respect that. I also understand what it looks like to brainstorm in public. This board does not have the ability to talk about these kinds of things behind closed doors, and we do have pretty strong opinions about different things when it comes to the money, and the focus of where we’re putting our resources in the district. The community knows that site-based budgeting is something that I’ve been talking about since I became a board member almost six years ago.”

Site-based budgeting is something the school district is at the point where they’re going to be rolling out, and at all of their sites, not just schools. That includes departments that are going to be utilizing the site-based budgeting model coming up in the 2026-2027 budget year, said Campbell.

Campbell’s individual vision for the consolidation/rezoning would be to combine campuses and student bodies in the 2026-2027 school year and then roll out where the new construction would occur, so they would receive new construction, but not while the students are sitting on the campus.

“I don’t believe it will be a full $45 million elementary school, that’s the position that I’m taking right now unless I hear otherwise from the county that the permitting is dictating what that looks like, but also to Ms. Bowman’s point, I did pull our numbers right now, Sparr is sitting at 101 percent capacity, with 420 students,” said Campbell. Reddick-Collier is sitting at 47 percent with 324 students.

Change is hard, no matter what it is, said Marion County Public School Board Vice Chair Lori Conrad.

“I know all of us can probably remember a time when we had to make a decision or we made a decision, and we knew it was the right decision, but it sure as heck didn’t feel good,” said Conrad. “Is there a perfect solution right now? In my heart, I don’t feel there is.”

Fiduciary fairness 

One of the agenda items for the March 5, 2026, work session will be rezoning. The request was to come back with a finalized plan for what it would look like for all of Sparr students to be rezoned, said MCPS Chair Dr. Sarah James. There will be a rulemaking and development meeting on April 2, at 9 a.m., which will be a follow-up of the community meetings; that’s where the board will discuss any of the specifics related to the rezoning. Then, the rulemaking public hearing will be April 28, which will be in the evening. No final decision would be made before April 28.

“I will beat a very passionate drum that there needs to be some level of equitable distribution throughout our community and recognition, while there may not be a booming student population coming to the Northend, the sales tax was voted on by community members who live throughout our community and many which reside in district five,” said James. “Even if we only look at the sales tax which is projected to generate $450 million in revenue. The walls and doors of East Marion represent 1 percent of that. While maybe we don’t need to spend 25 percent of the revenue on the Northend, a solid 10 percent would be nice, which is what we’re asking for, for a new school. I encourage the community to continue to be active participants in the conversation, that I will maintain that consolidation has to be a part of the conversation. As a board member, it’s my job to be a good steward along with my partners up here, and it’s a complicated conversation and it’s uncomfortable. But I wanted to deliver a better product after consolidation, that’s my goal and it’s always been my goal, that will continue to be my focus.”

Serving the community 

Nancy Thrower, Dist. 4, said that when she looks at the school district’s organizational chart, it’s not the school board that’s at the top of that chart. It’s the taxpayers, and she always tries to keep that in mind when the school board is trying to navigate through difficult decisions. If they didn’t have majority support for all the things that they do, they wouldn’t be heading in a positive direction as a school system.

“I take that input very seriously and I’m very much looking forward to further conversations regarding the Northside growth, the Northside culture, the Northside commitment, to your children and to each other, and how to navigate all of that, in the most compassionate and deliberate, thoughtful and future thinking manner possible, while maintaining our fiscal responsibility toward keeping this district afloat,” said Thrower. “But personally, I know that would be a whole lot harder to do without the incredible support that we’ve gotten these past 12 years, with our school funding referendums being renewed three times, and now we’re going to be looking at number four that half-penny sales tax, that comes from the taxpayers, and I recognize you as my boss.”