Green Cove Springs, Fla. — In an effort to manage rapid growth in student enrollment, Clay County school leaders are moving forward with a plan to expand junior high schools in the district.
The school board approved a plan that would essentially expand Lake Asbury and Oakleaf Junior High School boundaries.
Currently, elementary schools in Clay are kindergarten through 6th grade.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Read: ‘Grinch-like’ | Man accused of breaking into Ware Co. elementary school, stealing children’s gifts
Junior high schools are 7th and 8th grade.
But with the plan, those two schools will soon be adding 6th graders to their campuses.
Construction is underway for a two-story building, with 32 classrooms at both schools. They’ll be able to handle approximately 700 additional students each. And they will be opening in August.
The district told Action News Jax that building extensions to those schools is more cost-effective and it will save time rather than building entirely new schools from the ground up.
Read: LIST: Best places to see Christmas lights in the Jacksonville area in 2024
Latoya Dickens knows the growth in clay isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
“Every time I look up something new is being built,” said Dickens.
She said she lives in the area specifically for the schools and is happy to hear that they are expanding those schools.
“It’s a good thing,” said Dickens.
This plan will go into effect during the 2025-2026 school year.
Read: Two arrested, charged for involvement in drone strike that killed 3 Georgia soldiers in January
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.