QUINCY, FL (WTXL) -- Gadsden County residents met with the school board Thursday to go over a proposal to reconfigure the district.
The district scheduled the special workshop to address growing concerns about school closures and students having to travel further for their education.
School board members were quick to reiterate that nothing has been decided. Public feedback is necessary before any vote.
"It's kind of like a moot point for us to sit here and continue to go back and forth about what we support and what we don't like without getting input from the citizens, our stakeholders," said school board chairman Isaac Simmons.
Still, the board debated exactly what should be presented and when.
"This is not about your community. This is not about your school," said board member Steve Scott. "This is not about the job that you have. It's all of us."
"Yes, it affects the whole county, but if you live in Midway, it doesn't affect what's going at St. John," said board member Charlie Frost. "That doesn't affect you, so you can vote any kind of way."
The board decided to set seven meetings at locations around the county. The tentative order is as follows:
1) Gretna Elementary School
2) St. John Elementary School
3) Chattahoochee Elementary School
4) West Gadsden High School
5) James A. Shanks Middle School
6) Stewart Street Elementary School
7) East Gadsden High School
"We are going to go into the community and make sure that we hit every location, because all of our citizens really matter," said board member Audrey Lewis.
Residents said they realize reconfiguration will happen, but it's more about creating the best plan for students.
"Are we using the capacity to effectively educate the number of students we now have?" said Gadsden County resident Anthony Viegbesie. "If the answer is 'no,' then consolidation becomes a necessity."
Chattahoochee resident Frances Brown said, "We're freaking out on this, because it's like, 'Bam!' We're almost at the end of this year. This would be coming up."
"He doesn't have to do everything the first hundred days," said Judge Helms, a former school board member. "Things will still get done -- and, hopefully, to the satisfaction that we're thinking about doing for our students."
The community meetings have not been scheduled and the order of the locations is subject to change. The superintendent told WTXL he will provide a list of dates and times when they are finalized.
