PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – The Putnam County School Board voted unanimously to dub two new Palatka schools as K-2 and 3-6.
Palatka Intermediate School, which is currently under construction, will accept 3rd through 6th grade students.
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Palatka Primary, once built, will serve kindergarten through 2nd grade.
“I think the positives outweigh the negatives a long way around,” Board Member David Buckles said. “It’s not something everybody’s used to...but there’s a lot of positives for the kids that reside here in Putnam County.”
The schools are a part of the Revitalization Plan approved by voters in Nov. 2022. The plan approved a $300 million bond referendum to revamp aging schools and build new elementary and high schools for Putnam County over the next decade.
RELATED: As Putnam County students head back to class, district plans to repair, rebuild aging schools
The two schools were initially intended to become K-6, but as work continued the district considered the problems students faced.
At the Dec. 17 school board meeting, Superintendent Rick Surrency listed some reasoning behind the decision:
- Minimize the impact of student mobility between elementary schools within Palatka
- Eliminate the need for multiple rounds of rezoning school boundaries
- Help increase collaboration among teachers
- Provide every current Kindergarten through fourth-grade student in the Palatka area the opportunity to attend a new facility
- Allow mid-year promotion for third-grade students without having to relocate to another school
The district pulled research from Education Academic John Hattie, which analyzes various factors and their impacts on student achievement.
“The overall effect size of mobility is -0.38, meaning that mobility has a negative impact on achievement,” Executive Director of Strategic Planning Jonathan Hinke told News4JAX.
Multiple factors can cause a student to change schools such as moving, divorce or homelessness.
“We believe having a primary and intermediate configuration within the Palatka attendance zone will reduce student mobility,” Hinke said. “When families move from one home/apartment to another within Palatka, their children will be able to remain at the same school with the same teacher and peers they’ve already built relationships with.”
Palatka Intermediate will be at 156 Horseman Club Rd. and will open for the 2026-27 school year.
The location of Palatka Primary will be announced in late January but will replace either Kelley Smith Elementary School, Moseley Elementary School or James A. Long Elementary School.
Zoning will not change, however, K-2 students from the Palatka Primary site will go to another school during construction, according to Associate Superintendent for Support Services, Thomas Bolling.
Construction on Palatka Primary is slated to be completed during the 2026-27 school year.
Click here to view the interactive Palatka Elementary School zoning map.
