Thursday was the final “last day of school” at Don Brewer Elementary School in Jacksonville. — Thursday was the final “last day of school” at Don Brewer Elementary School in Jacksonville.
The school will be merging with Merrill Road Elementary School down the street on Hartsfield Road. Some parents have some concerns about the process.
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“I feel like that would be over capacity because that’s not a large school to take over a third, fourth and fifth,” a mom whose child attends Don Brewer said.
Some parents, like Merrill Road Elementary father Paul Bradley, are content.
“It’s never been a problem. I think it’ll probably be cool,” Bradley said.
For Don Brewer mom Chrystal Shute, this will be a homecoming for her third grade daughter. She left Merrill Road last year, which only went up to second grade, and will be returning there when it merges with Brewer in August.
“Happy but at the same time I wish we could stay here,” Shute’s daughter said.
One of the concerns that parents at the closing of Don Brewer Elementary expressed is that they like that their school is not on the main road. It’s out of traffic tucked down a roadway off Hartsfield Road.
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But Merrill Road Elementary, however, is on a busier road and parents have expressed concerns about some of the congestion during the drop off and the pick up times
Action News Jax spotted three memorial signs across the street from Merrill Road Elementary at the intersection of its name sake and Hartsfield Road.
“We almost got ran over once,” Shute’s daughter said.
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Duval County Public Schools meanwhile previously told Action News Jax that the consolidations were approved two years ago to help alleviate budget shortfalls, shrinking enrollment, and lesser used facilities.
On top of the Brewer/Merrill Road merger:
- George Washington Carver will consolidate into Rufus E. Payne Elementary.
- Hyde Grove Elementary will consolidate into Hyde Park Elementary.
- Hidden Oaks Elementary will consolidate into Cedar Hills.
But this is not the end for the Don Brewer campus. GRASP Academy, a grade 1-8 school for students with learning challenges like dyslexia, will come here in August.
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