NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla — A long-awaited meeting finally took place Thursday evening between Duval County school leaders and the mayors of Baldwin and the Beaches communities.

It’s a part of an interlocal agreement that calls for the groups to meet twice a year.

“We have not had one as long as I’ve been mayor for three years,” said Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford. “It’s taken me a year and a half to get to this meeting.”

Mayor Ford told First Coast News this collaboration comes at a critical time.

“We have all this change going on within our school system: consolidations, closures, finances and so on,” said Ford.

Duval County Schools Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier provided updates on maintenance projects at Beaches schools and shared safety efforts like the "Be Safe, Be Seen" ca

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