ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – The Volusia School District is looking to move an alternative learning school from Daytona Beach to an old Ormond Beach school location but not everyone in the neighborhood is happy with the plan.
The school district tells News 6 it is a done deal. The campus that used to be Osceola Elementary will become Riverview Alternative Learning School. City leaders and residents, though, said they are worried about the security of an alternative school and don’t think the district did enough to talk to the community about it.
“That’s a safety concern. It’s a major safety concern and it’s also a property value issue,” said resident Lindsey Wolf.
Wolf said there could also be a negative effect on property values.
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“To give up the equity they have in their homes, that’s not a fair ask of the school board. They have a facility they can renovate,” she said.
The middle and high school students at Riverview Alternative are currently in a building on Wild Olive Avenue in Daytona Beach while the elementary students are about 10 miles away at another site.
The district told News 6 it wants to consolidate the two campuses into one K-12 school and the board voted to move it to the old Osceola site last month.
Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington is asking the district to listen to the residents and reconsider.
“Nobody knows exactly what the plan is, and our hope is they’ll take a step back, have a community meeting, answer questions, explain everything and then figure out where to go from there,” he said.
A school board member told News 6 the district held a community meeting back in December but the message about the meeting went to Volusia County school families and not the residents.
The district said it’s going to have another meeting to explain what’s going on within the next few weeks.
“It’s just a common courtesy to check with us first for input and let us know what’s going to happen so we can be prepared,” said Partington.
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