Education:
District Plans to Close Lincoln Park & Warrington Elementary but Wants More Input From SAZAC
County Commissioner Lumon May urged the attendance zone committee to ask for a second look at Lincoln Park that climbed from an F to a B.
What Happened Last Night
The Escambia County School District plans to close Lincoln Park and Warrington elementary schools, but Assistant Superintendent Shawn E. Dennis told the Student Attendance Zone Advisory Committee (SAZAC) Tuesday night that the decision “has not been made yet.”
- Dennis told members that their job is to develop attendance zones for the students from both schools. Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May, who is not a SAZAC member, asked the committee to recommend that the superintendent and School Board reconsider closing Lincoln Park. Dennis said he would carry May’s message back to the decision makers.
A Plan, but Not a Final Decision
The plan: Dennis reminded members of what he told them at the first meeting. The district plans to close Warrington Elementary and Lincoln Park, and the committee must draw zones for the displaced students. He said members are operating on the premise that the closures will happen.
The caveat: When May said the public believes the closures are already decided, Dennis answered:
“The decision has not been made yet, that I can tell you. This is part of that process.”
—Shawn E. Dennis
- He described the committee’s work as attendance zones “as a result of decisions that may or may not be made” and said members are “not the decision makers.” Earlier in the meeting, he said, “We’re not predisposed to any decisions here.”
Chair Walker Wilson and member Ann Dungan both said they had assumed the committee’s role was broader than drawing lines but now understand better SAZAC’s charge of considering changes to the attendance zones.
A School That Is Working
Lincoln Park earned a B last school year after two consecutive C’s. Before that, it was an F. The District 3 school ranked #17 in total points among the district’s 34 elementary schools. Its learning gains were stronger still, including #3 in English language arts gains for its lowest 25% of students and #9 in math gains for the same group.
- Enrollment was 202 students in 2025-26, which puts the school on the closure list.
Commissioner May Asks for a Pause
May asked at the start of the meeting whether the public could speak. Dennis said the committee does not generally take public comment, but Wilson let the commissioner address members.
- District 3: May said the district has lost more schools than any other. Dennis agreed more closures have happened there, citing population density and older buildings, and said “some of those closures were beneficial.” May answered, “The new building didn’t improve grades.”
- Timing: He said teachers are afraid to speak up. “We’re sitting here in this month of October, and we’re closing a school in June.”
- Investment: May said the county recently put hundreds of thousands of dollars into a park in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
“You can’t close your way out of this crisis. You can’t close your way out of school choice. What we have an opportunity to do is make that school better.”
—Commissioner Lumon May
Where Would the Students Go?
Four adjacent schools could receive Lincoln Park students. Staff listed their most recent grades: Ensley (C), Brentwood (C), Longleaf (B) and Pine Meadow (A).
State data show Ensley with 465 students and 328 total points, the lowest of the 34 elementary schools. Brentwood has 397 students and 371 points, ranking #29. Lincoln Park outscored both.
Dungan asked whether any guardrails prevent moving children from a B school to a lower-graded one. Dennis said the receiving school’s performance has not been a factor in past moves.
“The notion of kids that are a B school going to a C school, kids that are a C school going to an A school has never played into it to the extent that it could be.”
—Shawn E. Dennis
- Dennis said district data scientist Jim Bobbitt will try to predict the academic effect of student moves.
“Economically Untenable”
Dennis said the break-even point for an elementary school was about 800 students when the district studied it in 2006. Every elementary school built since has been sized for 800.
“I love small schools. I want small schools. I think everybody in this room wants small schools. … Unfortunately, reality of economics in the current place forces us to look at different things.”
Shawn E. Dennis
- He added that smaller schools are the ones closing across the state “because they’re economically untenable.”
Lincoln Park Has Been Here Before
- 2010: SAZAC developed an attendance zone to close Lincoln Park. The superintendent instead cut it to the lower grades and moved third through fifth graders to nearby schools.
- 2017: The district restored Lincoln Park to a full K-5 school.
- 2026: Dennis said the 2010 work is the starting point for the first iteration.
Why this matters: The district plans to close a school that climbed from an F to a B, and the committee drawing the new zones has been told the decision isn’t final. The children would move to schools that earned a C, and the district has not weighed the receiving school’s performance in past moves.
What’s Next
SAZAC meets again Tuesday, Oct. 20. Dennis said the meeting has been properly advertised and is open to the public. The committee’s target for finishing is December, but the process won’t be rushed.
