St. Johns County School District unanimously approves zoning changes

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — As St. Johns County continues to grow, the school district on Tuesday night approved zoning changes. This means two new schools will be opening next fall.

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In the meeting, they said the growth is real and it’s here.

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The board said they were happy that the community seemed pleased with this decision.

One parent Action News Jax spoke with said while there were concerns at first, they’re glad it was approved in a way that won’t move their kids around.

The school district voted unanimously to rezone more than 2000 students to its two new ‘K’ through eight schools.

St. Johns County parent Ann Taylor said there was a possibility it would affect their neighborhood near Palencia Elementary but said their voices were heard by the school board.

“The kids that heard about today’s decision are thrilled,” Taylor said.

The new schools haven’t been named yet but will be in the Shearwater and Beacon Lake neighborhoods.

Changes will rezone students from at least six existing schools to help with growth management.

“I think they deserve stability, especially since the school has opened, they’ve been going there,” Taylor said.

Board chair Beverly Slough said in a statement that read in part, “Our board really appreciates the public input that helped us craft the best attendance boundaries. We look forward to opening the new schools next school year.”

The district also told Action News Jax that they advertise, message, and posted online about the changes. They said on Wednesday they would update their website that this zoning process was completed by the board and add any additional updates in the future.

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