ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — New homes, wider roads and more schools.
Development in St. Johns County has the school district building new schools all over the county.
Two new schools opening next year will impact enrollment at eight different schools in the northern part of the county.
“I’m not very happy with their building of portables out here at break neck speed and stuffing more people in a small area," said Switzerland Point Middle School Parent Gregory Boldt.
Boldt has to look at those portables every time he picks up his daughter from Switzerland Point Middle School.
They may not be necessary for too much longer, as students from three attendance zones will have a new school to head to next year.
Boldt says his daughter is moving on to high school this year, but he feels the students still at the school could use some more space.
“Transition in between classes when periods change is a massive chaos," said Boldt. "Kids can’t even get to their lockers, they have to carry whatever they bring to school with them all day long.”
Two new schools are both K-8 and set to open next year – one in the Shearwater neighborhood near County Road 16, and another in Beacon Lakes.
The schools aren’t named yet, but under the proposed attendance zones, the Shearwater location would take on a little more than 1000 students from five different elementary and middle schools.
The Beacon Lakes location would take on about 1200 students from four different schools.
St. Johns County School District leaders are also zoning students for a new development, Silverleaf – where one of the new schools will help take on the new families.
The school district doesn’t believe changing the attendance zones will make it more expensive to educate students.
The school board will meet Tuesday at 4 o'clock to review the proposed attendance zones.
Parents are welcome to attend the meeting to share their thoughts. It's at the district headquarters at 40 Orange Street, St. Augustine.
Parents can review the breakdown of attendance zones here.
Three other K-8 schools are also at various stages of development. You can track their progress here.