A redistricting proposal by Brevard County Public Schools could mean more than 1,000 students will have to attend new schools by as early as next year and the plan is not sitting well with dozens of parents in a West Melbourne neighborhood.

  • Brevard school redistricting plan could move 1,100 students
  • Some West Melbourne parents upset over plan
  • District says Melbourne High is 'significantly overcrowded'

"I moved here before I even had children, to live in this beautiful community with amazing schools and great property values," West Melbourne parent Michael Simon said.

Simon's kids, along with hundreds of others in the neighborhood, could be removed from the popular "A"-rated Melbourne High School and placed into the "C"-rated school Palm Bay High School under the proposed school rezoning plan.

“Now they’re going to be ripped out of their school and be put in lesser performing schools. Absolutely not. I won’t have it,” Simon said.

“We don’t want to just uproot them and pluck them and put them somewhere else. Our neighborhoods are deteriorating because of this, because where you are one year in terms of a school district, you may not be the next year," Mario Gargano said. "It really pulls away from these neighborhoods and the community feel."

Brevard school officials said the possible redistricting comes after the district passed a five-year capacity plan last year. The district hopes to build several new schools, reopen a school in Titusville and crack down on overcrowding across the county.

“Part of the reason is that Melbourne High is significantly overcrowded. It's beyond the point where even if you added portable classes, where there really isn’t room for that, you will start to overcrowd the cafeteria, gym, bathrooms, the facilities you need to run a school," Assistant Brevard Superintendent Matt Reed said. "So Melbourne High school does need to get a little smaller."

The school district said this is a countywide issue and it's listening to parents' concerns.

Still, parents fear even if their neighborhood isn’t affected, others will be. The school district will still have to rezone more than 1,100 students from somewhere in the county.

The school district said students in that West Melbourne area could be considered for a move to Palm Bay High, Bayside High or Heritage High school.

"My son wants to be a doctor, and he's very concerned after hearing about this that he won’t go to a good school," Simon said. "He's questioning this, asking me what are we going to do."

The district said a decision will likely be made after the holidays.