Comments on: School Closures, Rezoning On The Table As Escambia School District Begins “Right-Sizing” Process

By: WestRobertsResidents

WestRobertsResidents — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 21:20:58 +0000

Anonymous Teacher. I 100% agree with you except on the tax increase. It’s not that I don’t want the teachers to receive higher pay, it’s just I believe the money going into our district is already enough. The top heavy approach to our district ties up the money that would pay for the rate increases. I wonder this, say we close 6 schools in the county, how many support staff and administrators who occupy a desk and a ridiculous salary will be let go. The answer is zero. The enrollment continues to drop and we continue to consolidate schools, but continue to employ the same number of “support” staff. That never works. It never has and never will. It’s time to trim the fat and allocate the wasted funds where they belong.

By: North End Supporter

North End Supporter — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 01:07:49 +0000

Proud Army Parent, I agree. I’m a product of the north end of the county schools and a proud graduate of NHS. Even 30+ years ago the south end has tried to do what is “best” for the north end. And those decision makers had never even set foot in a north end school. The north end schools are the county’s best kept secret and will always be. So, the south end needs to clean up around their own front porch before they even think about venturing to the north end.

By: SW

SW — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:31:39 +0000

Wonder if this is a going away present by the superintendent before he risks losing his position to an elected vs appointed person.

By: ProudArmyParent

ProudArmyParent — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 21:49:45 +0000

Ideas, how about you keep your “south” end ideas out of the North end of the county. The Escambi School District has already shut down too many schools down the North end. We are proud of the accomplishments we have formed after ther the shut downs the School Board has thrown at us. Don’t try to do it to us again. We might not handle it as well as we did the first few times. Keep your changes on the south side of Nine Mile Rd!

By: Dave Lamb

Dave Lamb — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 19:31:27 +0000

Back in 1965 when Woodham High opened, realignment was done to populate its opening. This took many of our 1966 graduates out of Tate and xfered them to Woodham. These students had spent their high school life at Tate and only had the one year to complete. If you are going to move students around give those that want to finish out their school years in the school they are in. We lost a lot of friends,

By: Anonymous Teacher

Anonymous Teacher — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 17:25:39 +0000

Start by downsizing administrative positions at the district level, including content coaching jobs.

Allow increased enrollment in specialized programs like West Florida or Brown Barge to attract and keep students leaving the district at those levels because they were not enrolled in specialized programs.

Train more teachers in AP and duel enrollment courses to hold a competitive wedge over paid charter programs doing the same.

Actually follow guidelines for running and maintaining HVAC systems to improve reduce maintenance responsibilities and costs on fixing and replacing systems.

Cease any and all acquisitions of new technologies without widespread community and employee surveys to determine if those acquisitions may constitute wasteful expenditure (which many would say Canvas was).

Approve to a vote a 1 cent tax to be split between instructional staff and support staff pay and existing facility maintenance.

Streamline district wide volunteer applications and allow easier community partner access to foster better community involvement and support from businesses and NGO’s dedicated to supporting students.

All board members and superintendents moving forward must serve 1 week per year as substitutes in schools to see the actual state of affairs in the schools they serve in.

Promote truly anonymous surveys for employees to disclose issues and needs without fear of reprisal or administrative cover-ups, and release this data publicly after review so there is true transparency from staff and the community on the state of education in the district.

Lastly, annual reviews of administrative expenditures and job descriptions to axe redundancies and streamline positions and pay to maximize the dollar per student.

By: Top Heavy

Top Heavy — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 16:21:08 +0000

You could start by trimming back the excess at the top of the food chain. Director this, superintendent that, this boss, that boss and the only thing some of them do is to occupy a desk and garner an inflated salary instead of truly being involved in what their JOB is. The district got inflated, then the bug hit and students didn’t want to come back to school where they’re accountable for doing work over certain times of the day. Just like people who want to work from home now who got spoiled. Until spending is controlled and useless programs are eliminated this is a lost cause.

By: Terry

Terry — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 16:03:13 +0000

Talk about school closures,in my opinion Woodham highschool should have not been closed,after all has been said and done it’s still a highschool..Saying this this ,the school board as a whole needs to smart on there decisions.

By: HP

HP — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 15:07:49 +0000

Let’s realign and close the ECPS Board… remove every one of them. Elect a strong School Superintendent and start fresh with a few forward thinking, common sense approach leaders.

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 14:29:20 +0000

I wonder if this will just increase the tendency to consolidate neighborhood schools into larger and larger centers. It seems that may have reduced costs overall (I don’t have those numbers), but it seems to have consolidated problems more – making waves of behavior issues pass through a larger student population making combating student issues such a huge problem that it is overwhelming.

I miss neighborhood schools – they were a point of pride in the community, and the more intimate setting allowed for more rapid addressing of issues so that students could just do what they were there to do.

My two cents (do I round up to a nickel now?), and mileage may vary.