CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Clay County is looking to address a pressing issue in the area—expanding the number of junior high schools.
RELATED: Clay County school board proposes rezoning for junior high schools to accommodate steady growth
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Currently, the county has four times the number of elementary schools (28) as it does junior high schools (7), and the district is taking steps to accommodate growth in this fast-developing area.
The population boom is driving efforts to expand classroom capacity with current projects focusing on Lake Asbury Junior High and Oakleaf Junior High, where two-story buildings with 32 classrooms are under construction.
This will convert both schools into 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade Junior Highs upon completion. Presently, all Junior High Schools in Clay only serve 7th and 8th graders.
Parents like Jeremy Davis have noticed the need for new schools. He and his family moved to Clay from St. Johns County. “That was the reason we moved to Clay because of the growth in St. Johns,” he said. “It followed us.”
Clay already dealt with some rezoning in 2021 when a large chunk of students were rezoned from Oakleaf to Orange Park schools to accommodate the growing population in the Argyle area. The decision mostly affected students who lived in Argyle.
Parent Terry Sibley expressed concerns about temporary solutions.
“They need to go ahead and build more mortar schools instead of those mobile home-like trailer classrooms,” he said. “The schools would [also] last longer with brick-and-mortar.”
The county is working toward this goal, supported by a sales tax hike approved to fund school construction and reduce reliance on portable classrooms, something the expansion of Lake Asbury and Oakleaf contribute toward.