VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Parents of Osceola Elementary students are taking aim at the Volusia County School Board, claiming members were not transparent enough ahead of a decision that will ultimately close their school.

Kathleen Miksits packed up her life and moved so that her kids Carly and John could attend Osceola Elementary school. 

“It has been worth it, my kids are thriving there,” said Miksits. 

Now, she is fighting to keep them there after the school board voted to combine Osceola with Ortona Elementary and build a new larger school on the Ortona campus. When the City of Ormond Beach stepped up offering funds for the project in the hopes of keep their only beachside school, Miksits stepped up too — starting a petition that got hundreds of signatures. 

“Part of the reason we are having an issue with this is the transparency of the discussion before,” said Miksits. “I also want to show the school board that the decision that they made during the height of the pandemic wasn’t in the best interest of the kids, the schools, or anything. I wasn’t in favor of the merger to begin with, I felt that both communities needed their beachside schools”​

She said when the board voted back in August, the agenda stated they’d be deciding which grade levels attended the new school, but they ended up also deciding which campus they would build on — choosing Ortona in a 4-1 vote. School board members explained it was the less expensive option, has more students, and was recommended by the architects of the new school.

"I watched the school board meeting and the minute that they decided to call a vote on where the property was going to be I panicked, because that was not part of what they said they were going to be discussing,” said Miksits.

The school board was set to revisit the issue at a workshop on February 9 — but it ended up being canceled. 

That doesn’t sit well with the mayor of Ormond Beach, who said it was a chance to explain why their school should be saved.

“It is a bit of a slap in the face," said Mayor Bill Partington. "We were ignored by them after really coming up with some substantial dollars to make the project even better than it was going to be.” 

School Board member Carl Persis said the workshop was canceled as it was considered unfair to Daytona Beach leaders. He said the topic of revisiting the issue was brought up at the school board meeting that was scheduled for the same day. Persis said they determined that one of them would need to change their mind to hold a workshop.

“Due to a lack of a motion, the subject died," said Persis. 

Persis said he would like to give the community time to voice their opinions — but according to a district spokesperson, the school board’s lawyer claims they’ve done everything by the book. 

As for Miksits, she’s hoping this is not the end. 

“I don’t know that the school board is going to budge, but I am really hoping that they will at least look at it again,” she said. 

Some parents of Osceola Students are looking at taking legal action against the School Board. 

The Partington said the city of Ormond Beach supports them in their efforts.