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School Board Puts School at OakLeaf on Fast-Foward

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Facing yet another classroom crunch, the Clay County School Board has accelerated construction of a combination elementary-junior high school in the OakLeaf area by a full year.

At a special meeting Monday, the board approved a plan recommended by Superintendent David Owens to open the kindergarten- eighth grade school in August 2006, rather than August 2007.

District facilities director Jim Connell acknowledged the new schedule is ambitious, and said the junior high gymnasium may not be completed with the core campus. But he said the architectural firm designing the school, JRA Architects, and the contractor, Barton Malow Co., "have stepped up" to the challenge.

"We have a commitment . . . that this is doable," he said.

Board members agreed to hold more special meetings to sign off on financing and other contractual paperwork. The board plans to borrow about $16 million to pay for the school.

"We realize that this is so important, if it takes meeting once a week, whatever it takes to get this school built," said board Chairwoman Carol Studdard.

The move was intended to relieve overcrowding at newly built Argyle Elementary, but will help Tynes Elementary and Orange Park Junior High as well, said Mike Elliott, assistant superintendent for support services.

Argyle Elementary opens Monday with 130 more children enrolled than the latest district projection. Enrollment is expected to continue to grow during the next year because of booming residential development in the Argyle and OakLeaf areas, but the school site has no room to expand.

During the 2005-06 school year, some class sizes might have to be increased at Argyle. Other subsequent options included redistricting or closing Argyle to new enrollment. But the logistical and school bus transportation chaos that would result was deemed too "mind boggling" to seriously consider, Elliott said.

"The only real option was to advance the K-8," he said.

Board member Wayne Bolla questioned why the district's enrollment projection was off the mark. District officials said the initial 791- student estimate done last fall, as required by the state Department of Education, was based on information available at the time about the pace of new Argyle and OakLeaf developments.

But in the intervening months, those areas took off, they said.

"It has taken everybody's breath away. I have never seen anything like it," said Studdard, who runs a new resident welcome service.

Also, district officials noted that Argyle was intended to be open a year ago, along with the identically designed Swimming Pen Creek Elementary, but was delayed by site-acquisition and permitting problems. Had Argyle opened when it was supposed to, the enrollment projection would have been far more accurate, they said.

Bolla also asked why the district could not expand the size of the K-8 school in response to growth under way in that area. State regulations require new schools be built based on existing population, not projections or new development, said board member Charles Van Zant.

The OakLeaf school will be K-8 only temporarily. As soon as a separate elementary school is built in that area, the K-8 school will become a junior high. The district's long-range facilities plan calls for the new OakLeaf elementary to open in 2010, based on current funding projections, Elliott said.

Help may be in the offing from the developer of OakLeaf, The Hutson Cos. of Jacksonville. Elliott said he had preliminary discussions with the company about "advancing us the funding" in exchange for impact fee credits. If such an arrangement can be worked out, the OakLeaf elementary could be brought on line "much, much earlier" than the district's current funding allows, he said.

Five public schools are planned for OakLeaf, which ultimately will have as many as 8,000 homes. The 6,400-acre development of regional impact is a master-planned community behind Argyle, straddling southern Duval and northern Clay counties.beth.cravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 278-9487, extension 14.

Source: Florida Times Union

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