TAMPA, Fla. — With a 4-3 vote, the Hillsborough County School Board voted Tuesday to close a majority-minority school along coveted property near the Hillsborough River in West Tampa, raising concerns of gentrification.
According to documents from Hillsborough County Public Schools, the district wants to close Just Elementary on Spruce Street and send students to Booker T. Washington and Tampa Bay Boulevard elementary schools.
Currently an F-rated school, Superintendent Addison Davis said moving students to the other two C-rated schools will put them in in front of more highly-qualified teachers.
But the overwhelming consensus among those who spoke out at Tuesday's meeting was that the school needs to stay open to serve the parents in that neighborhood.
“When you move children, you lose a sense of community,” Keith Smiley said, a Tampa native who says he was bused to Robinson High School.
“Having to bus my babies out of the neighborhood is a little scary,” Cheryl Johnson said. “It's more about the psychological damage that it does for children.”
With a population that’s more than 80 percent Black and 12 percent Hispanic, closing Just would have a disproportionate impact on West Tampa’s minority community.
Additionally, leaders expressed concern that closing the school and busing them out of their neighborhood would lead to further instability for children who come from struggling families. More than 90 percent of students at Just are eligible for free lunch, meaning their family income is below 130 percent of the poverty rate.
“A solution to educating students better does not mean relocating students,” James Ransom, chair of the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs, said. “We hope that you will agree with us that there's another way.”
Hillsborough County Public Schools said the closure would provide better educational outcomes for students, as it has been difficult for the district to fill positions at the school.
“Combining the students with the surrounding schools will satisfy the teacher-to-student ratio needed and save the district money,” a school board document reads.
At least one school district document shows one proposal for Just includes selling the school to create housing for teachers.
Some say this makes them leery of the district’s motives as Just Elementary is within walking distance of the Hillsborough River, making it prime real estate for developers. It is also close to areas where the city of Tampa has looked to expand the Riverwalk
“Our community is completely being gentrified right before our eyes,” Johnson said. “Preserve and save Just, by any means necessary."
The school board is expected to make a final decision on the school after a second public hearing in early May.
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.