Community members, including parents and elected officials, gathered inside the Mebane Middle School Auditorium on Monday night for a meeting centered on the future of several public schools in the city of Alachua. 

Hosted by Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS), the meeting gave citizens a closer look at what the future could look like for three of the district schools in Alachua: Alachua and Irby Elementary Schools and Mebane.  

At a special meeting on March 12, the School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) approved revised rezoning maps for elementary, middle and high school as part of a right-sizing plan to balance out enrollment across the district and reduce overcrowding and under-enrollment at schools. Right-sizing was a key part of ACPS’s “Our Schools – Future Ready” planning initiative, which launched in November 2025 to address key issues such as enrollment and school capacity, transportation and educational programs. 

The approved right-sizing plan – for now – includes the closure of three elementary schools and the expansion of two current middle schools into K-8, or Pre-K-8, schools over the course of the next two years. Alachua Elementary is one of the schools that will close under the plan, with the closure estimated by the end of the 2027-28 school year. 

The elementary map approved by the SBAC at its March 12 meeting – revised Map D – also had Irby closing at the same time as Alachua Elementary, with Mebane expanding into a Pre-K-8 to accommodate the students from Alachua and Irby. The board approved the map but requested that staff bring back updated data and recommendations to possibly keep Irby open. Potential options that were mentioned included keeping the school as a Pre-K-2 or turning it into a Pre-K-5.  

During Monday’s meeting, ACPS staff went over four options for the Alachua area that will be presented to the SBAC for consideration. Each option includes Irby as a Pre-K-5.  

In option one, K-5 students living to the south of U.S. Highway 441 would be zoned to the Irby Pre-K-5 and then move to the Mebane Pre-K-8 for sixth through eighth grade, according to the district’s presentation. Meanwhile, K-8 students living north of Highway 441, as well as those in the Turkey Creek area, would be zoned for the Mebane Pre-K-8. 

Option two is similar to option one, except that the K-5 students living north of Highway 441 and west of Interstate 75 would also be zoned for the Irby Pre-K-5 and then move to the Mebane Pre-K-8 for grades sixth-eighth, according to the presentation. The K-8 students living north of Highway 441 and east of I-75 would be zoned for the Mebane Pre-K-8. 

In option three, K-5 students living south of Highway 441, along with a “portion of students north of” Highway 441, would be zoned for the Irby Pre-K-5 and then move to Mebane Pre-K-8 for grades sixth through eighth, according to the presentation. The K-8 students living north of Highway 441, except for those mentioned above, would attend the Mebane Pre-K-8. 

“What this option does…is it brings some of the students that are in that Merrillwood area around Alachua Elementary down into that Irby zone,” Kim Neal, ACPS’s director of full-time enrollment (FTE), said during the presentation. “So, that area comes south into [the] Irby [zone], and Turkey Creek stays in the Mebane Pre-K-8 [zone].”  

Option four is what was recommended to the SBAC at the March 12 meeting based on its feedback, in that all K-8 students in the Alachua area would be zoned to the Mebane Pre-K-8, and Alachua and Irby would close.  

Neal emphasized that in all four options, students in grades sixth through eighth are at Mebane. 

During Monday’s meeting, ACPS Deputy Superintendent Cathy Atria explained why none of the options kept Irby as a Pre-K-2 or becoming a Pre-K-3. 

“Under the FDOE [Florida Department of Education] rules in Florida law, K-2 schools are treated as feeder schools, which means that they receive the grade of the school within which they feed,” she said, adding that Irby’s grade comes from Alachua Elementary. “The challenge there is then the faculty members [at Alachua Elementary], as well as the school administration, have very limited influence on what’s happening in K-2. It’s not that the schools don’t collaborate. They certainly do [it]. But there is not that direct influence that you would find in a K-5 school across all grades.” 

As a Pre-K-3 or K-3 school, Atria said Irby’s grade would be dependent on third-grade and English Language Arts (ELA) and math performance. 

“That puts a lot of pressure on a very small number of students and a small number of teachers to designate that grade,” she said.  

As part of Monday’s meeting, attendees had the opportunity to write down questions on a notecard. The cards were then collected, and district staff responded to each question on the cards at the end of the presentation.  

There were some questions about the expansion to Mebane, including what the renovation would look like and when work would be completed. 

The district estimated that Mebane would become a Pre-K-8 by August 2028. Work would include renovations to existing buildings on campus and the addition of new buildings, with input from the community. Staff noted that decisions on where the new buildings would go have not been made at this time.  

ACPS staff said there would be separation between elementary and middle school students, including separate dining areas and lunch schedules.  

District staff said there would be facility additions for elementary students specifically, including a warming kitchen and dining area, a media center, classrooms for art and music, a covered court for P.E. and several playgrounds.  

The expansion, ACPS staff said, would also include separate parent drop-off/pick-up areas for elementary and middle school students.  

“There might be the same place for the bus loop,” Atria said. “That remains to be seen once we know the direction that we will take and start with that planning process.” 

District staff reminded attendees that they can continue to offer input by emailing board members or attending upcoming board meetings. The next SBAC meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21.  

According to a March 13 ACPS press release, “the board is expected to make a final decision on Irby and Mebane in May.” 

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.