The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in Math. The lowest is 39% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Romeo Elementary School
Romeo Elementary School sits in the Dunnellon area of Marion County, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is a regular public elementary school within the Marion County Public Schools district, located on SW 36th Street in a part of unincorporated Marion County that draws from the subdivisions and rural residential stretches surrounding the small city of Dunnellon.
The student body is a mix roughly split between white and Hispanic students, with smaller shares of Black students and children of two or more races. A large majority of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school firmly in a higher-need economic context. Data on students receiving special education services and on English learners was not available in the materials reviewed.
On Florida's FAST assessments in the most recent reported school year, the picture is uneven. In math, third and fourth graders performed at or near the majority-proficient mark, which is a genuine strength for those grade levels. Fifth grade math results dropped sharply, well below the majority threshold, and a parent would reasonably want to ask the school directly what is driving that gap. Reading and ELA tell a more consistently lower story across all three tested grades, with proficiency rates sitting below half for each grade, third through fifth. The fifth grade science assessment also came in below half. These are statewide comparisons, and the numbers are on the page in their own fields; in plain terms, Romeo Elementary's literacy results in particular are an area worth monitoring and discussing with the school. Trend data across prior years was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these numbers reflect a direction of change.
A graduation rate is not applicable here because the school ends at fifth grade, well before high school.
The comparison framework for Marion County showed only a single district in the county cohort, so proficiency positioning relative to neighboring districts was not computable from the data provided.
The community surrounding Romeo Elementary is shaped by Dunnellon's small-town character and the broader growth of unincorporated Marion County. Dunnellon itself is a very small city, publicly described as anchored by a quiet historic downtown of locally owned shops and restaurants, with civic life organized around two rivers, Rainbow Springs State Park, and a handful of community events. The school campuses in the area sit on separated sites outside the downtown core, and the region is heavily car-dependent with no meaningful local transit. Much of the residential growth in this part of Marion County is happening in surrounding subdivisions rather than the city itself, and new construction is active in the area, suggesting a community in a period of expansion.
For families thinking about housing, the local home values in the Dunnellon zip code are noticeably below both the state and national benchmarks, and values have edged slightly downward year over year. That relative affordability is a meaningful feature of this market compared to much of Florida.
At the district level, two funding decisions are worth knowing. Marion County voters approved a new half-cent sales tax in late 2024, dedicated to school capital needs including construction and renovation, as the district faces record enrollment growth and has publicly reported plans for several new schools and additional wings over the coming years. A one-mill property tax for operating expenses, covering school safety, teacher retention, arts, physical education, and other programs, was also renewed in 2022 and runs through mid-2027. Both affect local tax bills directly, and together they suggest a district that has sought and received voter support for investment in its schools during a period of substantial growth.
For a family choosing where to enroll, Romeo Elementary offers a neighborhood pre-K through fifth grade pathway in an affordable and growing part of Marion County. The math results in the early upper grades are encouraging. The reading and fifth-grade results are weaker and worth a direct conversation with school staff about what supports are in place.
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