To the Pinellas County School Board and Pinellas County Schools Leadership:

We, the undersigned parents, students, families, alumni, educators, and community members, respectfully urge the Pinellas County School Board to reconsider the proposed changes to Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary School and Tarpon Springs Middle School.

This is about more than closing buildings or rearranging grade levels.

It is about protecting what is working, preserving our community, and ensuring Tarpon Springs families continue to have meaningful educational choices.

Do Not Dismantle a Proven, Exceptional School

Tarpon Springs Fundamental is not simply another fundamental school.

It is an established, exceptionally high-performing school that families deliberately choose because of its academic excellence, high expectations, dedicated teachers, parent involvement, traditions, and close-knit community.

It has earned its reputation over many years.

And that distinction matters because not all fundamental schools are created equal.

The success of Tarpon Fundamental cannot simply be attributed to the word “fundamental.” Its success is the result of a school community that has been built over decades.

The proposed K–8 school would be dramatically different. It would be substantially larger, add middle-school grades, combine different student and staff populations, and fundamentally change the environment families have intentionally chosen.

Could a new K–8 school eventually be successful? Absolutely.

But there is no guarantee that a new, four-times-larger school will reproduce the academic performance, culture, parent involvement, and sense of community that made Tarpon Fundamental so successful in the first place.

If we are fortunate enough to have the county’s best-performing elementary schools, we should be asking:

Why fundamentally change what is already working without clear evidence that the new model will be at least just as successful?

We are not asking the district to avoid change simply because change is uncomfortable.

We are asking the district to protect proven excellence and demonstrate how it will be preserved.

Families deserve clear answers about how the district will protect academic performance, maintain the school’s culture and traditions, manage dramatically increased enrollment, preserve parent involvement, and ensure that the close-knit environment students currently experience does not get lost.

A successful school community cannot simply be recreated by changing its grade configuration and putting the "Fundamental" title on it.

Tarpon Springs Middle School Families Deserve a Local Option

The proposed closure of Tarpon Springs Middle School creates a different but equally important concern.

Tarpon Springs Middle School provides a traditional public middle-school option within our community. Under the proposal, students would instead attend Carwise Middle School in Palm Harbor.

While transportation may be provided, a bus does not eliminate the consequences of distance.

For many Tarpon Springs families, this could mean longer days, earlier mornings, later arrivals home, less time for homework and family, and greater difficulty participating in sports, extracurricular activities, and after-school events.

Children’s time matters.

So does community.

Schools are more than buildings. They are where children build friendships, parents become involved, families form relationships, and students develop a sense of belonging to their community.

Closing Tarpon Springs Middle School means losing an important local institution and sending students outside their city for their middle-school education.

Before making that decision, the district should fully evaluate alternatives and clearly explain why keeping a traditional middle-school option within Tarpon Springs is not possible.

A Fundamental K–8 Is Not an Equivalent Replacement for Every Family

We want to be clear: we support fundamental education.

Families who choose the fundamental model deserve access to it.

But fundamental education and traditional public education are not interchangeable, and one cannot automatically be considered a replacement for the other.

Fundamental schools have specific expectations and requirements that may not be feasible or appropriate for every family. Transportation, work schedules, parent involvement expectations, homework requirements, academic structure, and individual student needs all matter.

If Tarpon Springs Middle School closes, some families could effectively be left choosing between:

A new fundamental K–8 school that may not be feasible or appropriate for their family

or

A longer commute to Carwise Middle School in Palm Harbor.

That is not the same as having meaningful local choice.

Different children have different needs. Different families have different circumstances.

Tarpon Springs deserves a public-school system that recognizes that reality.

We Ask the School Board to Protect What Works

We understand that Pinellas County Schools must make difficult decisions involving enrollment, facilities, finances, and long-term planning.

But the value of a school cannot be measured only by building capacity or the number of seats available elsewhere.

Academic excellence has value.

Stability has value.

Parent involvement has value.

Community has value.

Local access has value.

Before making changes that will profoundly affect Tarpon Springs families, we ask the School Board to:

1. Protect Tarpon Fundamental’s proven academic excellence and established school community.

Require clear evidence and data that the proposed K–8 model will maintain or improve upon the success families currently value. TSFES is currently #1 in the county, #6 in the state for elementary schools and in the top 50 for the country. 

2. Preserve meaningful local middle-school access.

Fully evaluate alternatives before closing Tarpon Springs Middle School and sending students outside their community. For example, reconsider merging traditional elementary schools like Sunset Hills which is under 50% capacity or Tarpon Elementary with Tarpon Middle. 

3. Recognize that not all fundamental schools are created equal - and that fundamental and traditional schools serve different needs.

Do not assume that a new fundamental K–8 automatically replaces either the established Tarpon Fundamental community or the traditional middle-school option.

4. Listen meaningfully to the families affected.

Parents, students, teachers, staff, alumni, and community members deserve more than an opportunity to speak. Their concerns should genuinely inform the final decision.

Tarpon Springs Deserves to Protect What Works

We are not asking the district to reject progress.

We are asking the district to think carefully before dismantling proven success and removing local choice.

Tarpon Fundamental has already demonstrated what it can achieve.

Tarpon Springs Middle School already serves families within their community.

Before giving up either, we deserve clear evidence that the proposed changes will truly make things better for our children - not simply different.

Do not trade proven excellence for an unproven model without evidence that students will benefit.

Do not eliminate a local middle school without fully considering the families who depend on it.

Do not assume one educational model can meet the needs of every Tarpon Springs family.

Tarpon Springs deserves excellence.

Tarpon Springs deserves community.

Tarpon Springs deserves meaningful choice.

Protect What Works. Preserve Excellence.