JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Chaffee Trail Middle School will be the first middle school built with the half-penny sales tax, which was approved by voters in November 2020.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
It’s an effort to enhance the safety and security of Duval County Schools.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Earlier today, the school district broke ground on a monumental project.
“This is a very monumentous day,” school board member Charlotte Joyce said. “I’m excited about that. I’m excited for what’s going to happen. I’m excited for the groundbreaking, but I’m also excited for advocating for the future of the Westside. As you know, we’re seeing a lot of growth on the Westside.”
The last middle school to be built in Duval County was in 2008.
The budget for this project is about $56 million, and it will be located on a Greenfield site near the existing Chaffee Trail Elementary School.
“I mean, it’s literally right next door,” Amy Mitchell, a parent that lives nearby, said. “I mean, we’re a community here out in this area. So, a lot of us know each other, and a lot of our kids knew each other. We like being able how they can move up together each year and just continue with each other.”
“We’re excited to finally have a middle school over here,” Misty Feller said. “It’s nice having it close to home.”
Read: ‘Your tax dollars at work’: New school made possible by half cent sales tax
In a little more than a year, a 125,000 square foot campus will have 26 state-of-the-art studio classrooms.
“Numbers are rising so they are making room,” Mitchell said.
This school will serve as relief site to both Baldwin Middle-Senior High School and Charger Academy.
A childcare center had to bus children to those other schools.
“They were getting bussed about 20 minutes away,” Jaime, employee of a daycare center nearby, said. “It would be great for all the kids to have this wonderful new school.”
“Yeah, we’re so excited,” her coworker Angie added.
Chaffee Trail Middle School is expected to be completed in August 2024.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
For the next 15 years, a voluntary half-penny sales tax will fund a facility plan that will include several renovation projects. According to the Duval Schools website, it will address more than one-billion-dollars in maintenance that has been deferred more than 10 years as a result of state funding cuts.