Ormond Beach Launches Save Our School Campaign In Regards To Osceola Elementary

Ormond Beach, FL – The possibility of Osceola Elementary being shut down and students merged with those at Ortona Elementary School has led to the creation of a Save Osceola Elementary School petition. The city of Ormond Beach is working to keep the school open. At the January 26 school board meeting, Joyce Shanahan, the city manager, addressed the Board to share the city commission’s strong desire to have the new school built on the Osceola site. This comes a year after the Volusia County School Board (VCSB) decided to make Ortona Elementary the location for the new Beachside K-5 School. The decsion was made and then came COVID-19. According to the petitioners,  District 4 School Board Member Carl Persis said that "During this year long discussion, the Board did not receive a large response from Osceola families. Perhaps, because of the pandemic, people were dealing with so many health and financial issues, the matter of closing Osceola was not a high priority." In a press release, the petitioners said that "the city of Ormond Beach has been an outstanding, consistent and enthusiastic partner trying to save Osceola." Also, "the city is willing to do infrastructure, road, and sidewalk improvements to enhance the site and reduce costs to the school district." You can find statistics gathered as to why Osceola Elementary should be chosen for the new joint K-5 and the email addresses of all VCSB members to tell them the choice should be Osceola at stories.opengov.com.