JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sales tax dollars approved by Duval County voters are helping shape the future of local education. Crews broke ground Monday on a new Pickett Elementary School on Jacksonville’s Northside, launching a nearly $34.9 million construction project off Old Kings Road near Pritchard Road.
A formal groundbreaking ceremony, hosted by Duval County Public Schools district leaders, will happen at noon Tuesday at the construction site.
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The new school is expected to open in August 2027 and will bring together students from three existing campuses — Pickett Elementary School, Reynolds Lane Elementary School and S.A. Hull Elementary School — all under one roof.
The new facility is designed to hold 980 students and sits near the Kings Landing and Old Kings Trail communities, areas home to many young families. Neighbors say they welcome the change.
“It comes with the program, school is good,” said Wayne Milliner, a local resident.
The project is made possible through the half-cent sales tax Duval County voters approved in 2020. According to district leaders, the new Pickett Elementary is one of five new schools currently under construction in Duval County, with three of those schools slated to open in 2027.