Alachua County School Board approves controversial plan for city schools

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - The Alachua County School Board passed a controversial plan impacting schools in the city of Alachua in a divided vote Tuesday night.

After about two hours of discussion, the board reached a compromise, but not without disagreement.

Board approves grade reconfiguration

In a 3-2 vote, the school board approved a plan to keep Irby Elementary as a K through 2 campus, while shifting grades 3 through 8 to Mebane Middle School.

Board members Sarah Rockwell, Tina Certain, and Thomas Vu supported the plan, calling it a middle ground, while Leanetta McNealy and Janine Plavac voted against it.

The discussion came after controversy earlier in the day, when a version of the presentation was shared with teachers, prompting some to call the process confusing and lacking transparency.

Board members spent hours debating multiple options, including K-4 and K-8 models, before landing on what some called a compromise.

Board members split on decision

“I don’t care what the state is doing or nationally is doing, I’m saying us here in Alachua County… We have been to so many community meetings and the community spoke to us and we can’t take that into consideration,” McNealy said.

“The last workshop, a K-4 seemed like a good compromise to me but now that it’s here it seems it’s impractical if not improbable or you know otherwise,” Vu said.

A teacher said the final decision still leaves questions, especially about how Mebane will absorb more students.

“It is not perfect, and obviously it was not an option even on there that we voted on tonight and so for me I think the battle that we fought just being like staying open is huge and then we also crossed another barrier where we were able to stay the same but I do think about Alachua closing and I do think about Mebane,” said Shernee Bellamy-Fults, an Irby Elementary teacher.

Bellamy-Fults said she would not be surprised if more changes come out of this discussion before the 2028 to 2029 school year, including earlier boundary adjustments currently set to take effect as soon as August 2026.

The district says these changes will take some time, giving time for planning and possible adjustments.

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