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School district facing expansion, changes amid growing county

New schools, additional campus wings and future rezoning in the works

By Kyla Woodard
kyla@claytodayonline.com
Posted 1/16/25

CLAY COUNTY —  While the county's population is bursting at the seams, providing educational opportunities is still a main priority for the school district. "I'm as excited today as I've ever …

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School district facing expansion, changes amid growing county

New schools, additional campus wings and future rezoning in the works


Posted

CLAY COUNTY —  While the county's population is bursting at the seams, providing educational opportunities is still a main priority for the school district.

"I'm as excited today as I've ever been about the future of Clay County schools," said Superintendent of Schools David Broskie. 

Along with the county's road expansions and growth projects, schools also work to accommodate a growing need.

Following the completion of the First Coast Expressway, Broskie said that around 25,000 new homes are projected to be built in the next 10 years. This will add more than 6,000 additional students to the school system.

As a result, he said that tackling the development head-on is key.

"One of the things you'd like to do is you'd like to be fiscally responsible with the taxpayer dollars that are given," Broskie said. "So, you're looking for the best option to provide available seats and additional capacity, but do it in the most cost-effective way."

The county is getting bigger. With no time to waste, some big plans are in the works, especially for the Lake Asbury and Oakleaf areas.

"For schools it's about short term, intermediate and long range planning," Broskie said. 

Broskie said an additional wing will be added to Lake Asbury Junior High School on Sandridge Road. The wing will consist of 32 classrooms and accommodate about 640 more students. 

Oakleaf Junior High School, on Plantation Oaks Boulevard, will also receive that same model. Both projects, which will cost approximately $20 million each, are expected to be ready for the 2025-2026 school year.

Broskie said these middle schools will also begin providing sixth-grade education, which means some change for many students and parents.

"Some of our sixth graders from the elementary schools that feed into those schools, that are right at or slightly above their intended capacity, would be the students that would be going there," he said.  

In a proposed boundary change, fifth-grade students at Discovery Oaks, Oakleaf Village, Plantation Oaks, Coppergate, Lake Asbury, RideOut and Shadowlawn elementary schools would attend either Oakleaf Junior or Lake Asbury Junior for their sixth-grade year.

Broskie said this sixth through eighth approach is used in 65 of Florida's 67 school districts.

Broskie said there are plans also to add a wing onto Rideout Elementary.

Broskie said the burgeoning Saratoga Springs community, located between Green Cove Springs and Lake Asbury, will bring even more development.

Looking into the future, the district expects to build two brand new schools in that area, a high school and an elementary school, by 2030 and 2032, respectively.

"New high school costs range anywhere from $150 million to $200 million to build a new high school," Broskie said. "So, that's a huge expense."

Governors Park is projected to gain a kindergarten through eighth-grade school by 2031.

Although overwhelming, Broskie said he believes part of the reason for the growth is that it attests to the school district's success and impact, and he plans to keep it that way.

"Clay County itself is blessed to have a great school district. We're an A-rated school district. We're an academically high-performing school district. We recently released our 95% graduation rate, which is the highest in the history of Clay County," Broskie said. "And that's a lot to be proud of."