Collier County School District lays out plan impacting where kids attend

Attendance boundary modification is a fancy term for the plan to change where students can go to school.

Wednesday night, the Collier School District held a meeting to lay out what the plan could look like. The school district says these plans are helping them prepare for future growth, but parents are not happy.

They’re worried about the impact it will have on their kids. They can understand the county is growing but don’t agree with changing boundaries for all schools, possibly affecting all students.

No parent at the meetings, or in the car line that WINK News spoke with on Wednesday wants their kid to be “The new kid” at school come 2025.

If you’re like Jamie Searles, putting your kid into a good school means making a big move.

“When we sold that house and looked at the next house to buy, we had just had our first child. So, their father looked at school districts. I didn’t even think to look at school districts, but he did. He was very smart. And we bought right here. The place we bought was specifically because it was in this school district,” said Searles.

Osceola is one of 17 elementary schools and 32 Collier County schools up for rezoning with its school boundary proposal. The district’s goal is to make room for the growing communities in Collier County.

“They’ve split up neighborhoods, which has really been a big thing for us. There’s three communities within like a four-mile radius right here, and all three communities are going to different schools,” said Stephanie Jonas, a Collier County parent.

Moms by day, new proposal planners by school board meetings. The women have come together to present a new plan to the district.

“There’s really no reason for them to be focusing on the West to 75. All the overgrowth is out East and that’s really what we’ve been pushing. We just don’t understand why we have to affect these small communities on the west side,” said Briana Enes, a Collier County Parent.

They’re serving as a voice for their students who feel at home in the schools that they are in.

“It’s not just politics. It’s our children. And I think that when it’s about your child, you will go to great lengths to do what you need to do for your children. I mean, that’s a mama bear status,” said Enes.

The Collier County School Board will make its decision on school boundaries on May 14.

Click here to see if your child’s school could be impacted by the rezoning.