Marion County Public Schools is looking to open a new Early Learning Academy in Ocala for the 2022-2023 school year.
The request to open the school will be presented to the Marion County School Board for approval or denial during its meeting on Tuesday, February 22.
Approval from the school board members would allow for the district to move forward with the development, staffing, recruitment, and enrollment for the school.
The currently unnamed school would be located at the former site of Evergreen Elementary School (4000 W Anthony Road). The school would open initially with Pre-K and Kindergarten classes, and the school would expand by one grade each year until the third year when it would be completed as a Pre-K through second grade school.
MCPS has estimated that the first-year costs for the school would be just over $1.4 million. This includes estimates for remodeling ($39,000), curriculum ($22,507), the Marion Afterschool Program ($88,339), and staffing and operations ($1,274,545).
The total estimated costs for the curriculum, Marion Afterschool Program, staffing, and operations would increase during the school’s second year (nearly $1.7 million) and third year (just over $1.8 million).
The Marion County School Board meets at 5:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at the School Board Meeting Room located at 512 SE 3rd Street in Ocala.