OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Northside utilization was one of the agenda items discussed at the Marion Public County School Board administrative briefing and work session on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
During the early summer months, the board asked that a recommendation be brought to discuss the utilization of the Northside, said Dr. Danielle Brewer, Marion County Public School Board interim superintendent.
Brewer convened with a number of departments to provide detail and staff recommendations.
Four concepts for moving forward
Four school utilization concepts were presented. The request from the board was to take a look at two items: how the facilities are being used on the north end, particularly the four elementary schools–Anthony, Fessenden, Reddick-Collier and Sparr–and the five-year plan for the school district’s alternative learning site, with the number of students at Bridgeway Academy exceeding the capacity on campus, said Ben Whitehouse, Marion County Public Schools deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction.
The school district took an in-depth look at the elementary schools at the northern end of the county. It’s not only important for fiscal and operational efficiency, but a new state statute was passed last year and there was a state board rule that just took effect that addresses co-location of charter schools onto public school campuses. Schools of Hope that are approved by the State of Florida have the opportunity to co-locate on underutilized public-school property, said Whitehouse.
Concept one would relocate Fordham Early Learning Academy from its current location to Reddick-Collier Elementary. The cost would be roughly $15,000.
- Fordham Early Learning Academy currently has 238 students enrolled
- There are approximately more than 300 seats available at Reddick-Collier Elementary, enough to accommodate students from the Fordham Early Learning Academy and allow for growth.
Concept two would convert the four elementary schools–Anthony, Fessenden, Reddick-Collier and Sparr–into kindergarten through eighth-grade schools, which would include classroom, gymnasium and cafeteria additions, allowing for one school administration staff. The cost would be $76 million.
- North Marion Middle School would no longer be needed under this concept.
- The Bridgeway Academy Students would relocate to the North Marion Middle School site.
Concept three would be to combine Sparr and Anthony Elementary as one school and build a new school for those two school campuses.
The cost to build a new elementary school is roughly $50 million for a brand-new state-of-the-art facility; or with an expanded Sparr at a cost of $26 million.
Concept four would allow the school district to relocate the students who are currently at Anthony Elementary to Reddick-Collier, where there’s enough space at Reddick-Collier to accommodate all of the current students that are currently attending Anthony Elementary School. This concept would be one of the least expensive options.
The recommendations
Staff recommended combining concepts one and three, which would quickly address the Bridgeway Academy students and the capacity at Reddick-Collier, and then look at the long-term project of completing an elementary school. It would be up to the board where it would fit into the timeline of the other school projects that the district has.
“Concept one is something we can do fairly easily, with a goal being on target for next school year,” said Whitehouse. “We can have the students move, we can have the schools updated, we could free up the Bridgeway space to move staff over, most of those from a logistical standpoint are fairly uncomplicated. Concept three, we certainly see a need for some new construction on the north end. A lot of our schools on the north end are getting much older.
“The amount of money that we intend on spending over the next 10 years in facility management for those campuses gets rather expensive. Building a new school to accommodate two of those (schools) would cut down on those long-term costs for those facilities.”
