ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The St. Johns County School District unveiled a new rezoning plan Tuesday morning to address overcrowding in schools in the northern part of the county.
The plan would address overcrowding concerns, specifically at schools in Ponte Vedra Beach, and also along the fast-growing County Road 210.
A new high school is opening next year in Beachwalk, a large St. Johns County community known for its man-made lagoon. As that community grows, the school district said it needs a new plan to deal with the influx of students.
“I know that you’ve heard the concerns about Beachwalk in that community and I do believe that with the new high school opening there next year that we’re gonna see enormous growth in that area and I don’t want to see that stress on Ocean Palms [Elementary] and on Landrum [Middle School],” board member Kelly Barerra said.
Ocean Palms Elementary and Alice B. Landrum Middle School are both on the same street in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The district is now proposing moving 140 students who live in Beachwalk from those schools to Liberty Pines Academy on the other side of Interstate 95.
It’s the latest balancing act the district is proposing as it works to build much-needed new schools in the district.
The new plan presented today also proposes that all students living in the Shearwater development attend a new K-8 that is set to open in 2023.
The district now has three zoning proposals to consider before school starts in the fall.
And there are still chances for the public to weigh in at three meetings in May before the zoning changes are set for approval on May 31.