Oct. 30, 2024 - The Duval County School Board recently approved a new Five-Year Capital Plan, formally committing funds to specific capital projects throughout the district. This plan, which was approved at the Oct. 1 Board meeting, includes funding for several projects in the district’s new Master Facilities Plan (MFP).
Differentiating Between the Five-Year Capital Plan and the Master Facilities Plan
The Five-Year Capital Plan and the MFP both guide long-term facilities planning in the district.
The MFP was originally created in 2019 to identify construction and capital projects that would be primarily funded with the voluntary half-penny sales surtax, which was approved by voters in 2020. Both the original MFP and the revised MFP look at selected projects and anticipated sequencing over a 15-year timeframe.
While the MFP only includes facilities projects primarily funded by the half-penny sales tax, the Five-Year Capital Plan identifies all projects and purchases funded through the district’s normal capital property millage and other capital funding sources, as well as MFP projects. It also formally commits funding to these projects and identifies specific scheduling for projects.
The Five-Year Capital Plan is a rolling plan that will be reviewed annually by the Board. The subsequent year of projects identified in the MFP is added to the Five-Year plan on a rolling basis. The Board can also make changes to the Five-Year plan each year based on variables outlined in Board policy, such as changing enrollment patterns and facility conditions.
Why Changes to the MFP Were Necessary
Increasing construction costs following the pandemic and changing rules for sharing revenue with charter schools necessitated changes to the 2019 MFP. That original plan was no longer feasible due to those changing economic factors. The new MFP, presented to the Board at the Oct. 1 meeting, is anticipated to be feasible under new projections for revenue and costs in the long term.
School Consolidations
Primarily due to declining enrollment, the new plan increases the number of school consolidations compared to the original Master Facilities Plan. However, the approval of the facilities plans does not authorize school closures.
Per Board policy, there is a multistage process to consolidate schools that includes community review meetings with school stakeholders (staff, families, and students); a public hearing; and final Board approval. Schools cannot be consolidated without going through this process.
This process is currently taking place with the below elementary schools that have been recommended for consolidations in the 2025-26 school year:
1. Annie R. Morgan into Biltmore
2. Kings Trail into Beauclerc
3. Don Brewer into Merrill Road
4. Susie Tolbert into Smart Pope Livingston
5. George Washington Carver into Rufus E. Payne
6. Hidden Oaks into Cedar Hills
In addition to these consolidations, the School Board previously approved the consolidation of R.V. Daniels Elementary School into R.L. Brown Elementary School and Windy Hill Elementary School into Southside Estates Elementary School.
The district is also finalizing the process to discontinue the Young Men’s/Women’s Leadership Academy program at Eugene Butler Middle School and to merge the district’s Bridge-to-Success (BTS) middle and high school programs at Eugene Butler.
Potential Future Consolidations
Below is a list of schools under consideration for consolidation in 2026-27 and subsequent years.
1. 2026-27: Hyde Grove K-2 into Hyde Park Elementary
2. 2026-27: Long Branch Elementary into R.L. Brown Elementary
3. 2026-27: Anchor Academy into Mayport Elementary
4. 2026-27: Joseph Stilwell Middle into Ed White, which becomes a 6-12 grade school
5. 2027-28: Love Grove Elementary splits into a new school at Hogan Spring-Glen Elementary in 2027-28 or Spring Park Elementary.
6. 2027-28: Englewood Elementary splits into a new school at Hogan Spring-Glen Elementary or Spring Park Elementary.
7. 2027-28: S.A. Hull Elementary into a new school at Pickett Elementary
8. 2027-28: Reynolds Lane Elementary into a new school at Pickett Elementary
9. 2029-30: Whitehouse Elementary into Thomas Jefferson Elementary
10. 2029-30: Gregory Drive Elementary into Charger Academy, which becomes an elementary school
11. 2029-30: Normandy Village Elementary, into Charger Academy, which becomes an elementary school
12. 2030-31: Ortega Elementary into a new school at Venetia Elementary
13. Between 2029 and 2034: Arlington Elementary will merge into multiple area schools based on boundary changes in the area.
14. Between 2029 and 2034: Arlington Heights Elementary will merge into multiple area schools based on boundary changes in the area.
In 2025, the district will initiate the multistage community process to review the potential consolidations for 2026-27.
New School Builds
The district made a commitment to the community to replace some of the district’s oldest and most dilapidated schools. While the list of prospective new schools is smaller, the new plan still includes the following full school rebuilds:
1. Southside Estates Elementary (Under construction; opening 2025-26 school year)
2. Ribault High (Under construction; opening 2025-26 school year)
3. Baldwin 6-12 (Project begins 2026. No completion date set.)
4. Spring Park Elementary (Opening 2027-28 school year)
5. Hogan-Spring Glen Elementary (Opening 2027-28 school year)
6. Pickett Elementary (Opening 2027-28 school year)
7. Venetia Elementary (Opening 2030-2031school year)
8. Raines High (Project expected in the 2029-2034 timeframe)
9. Lake Lucina Elementary (Project expected in the 2029-2034 timeframe)
10. Westside High (Project expected in the 2029-2034 timeframe)
Schools That Will Not Be Rebuilt
Because of the changes to costs and revenue experienced since 2019 when the original MFP was approved, some new schools projected in the original plan are no longer in the current plan. New school or school re-build projects that are no longer planned under the current half-penny sales tax are listed below.
1. Beauclerc Elementary
2. Eugene Butler
3. George Washington Carver Elementary (closing)
4. Englewood Elementary (closing)
5. Garden City Elementary
6. Holiday Hill Elementary
7. Kings Trail Elementary (closing)
8. Smart Pope Livingston Elementary
9. Sallye B. Mathis Elementary
10. Reynolds Lane Elementary (closing)
11. San Jose Elementary
12. San Mateo Elementary
13. Seabreeze Elementary
14. Louis Sheffield Elementary
15. Whitehouse Elementary (closing)
16. Windy Hill Elementary
The schools listed above that are not closing will receive funding to address deferred maintenance. Windy Hill will receive a more extensive renovation and serve as a center for students with special needs.
Louis Sheffield, Garden City, Seabreeze, and a new K-8 school in the southeast sector of Jacksonville are in the plan to receive new schools in the 11–15-year timeframe, but at this time, there is no funding source for those projects.
Next Steps
The School Board held a public hearing on Tuesday regarding the seven closures planned for the 2025-26 school year.
Next, the Board will take action on those recommendations at their regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m.
District administration will bring the Five-Year Capital Plan back to the Board for review, possible modification, and approval each year.
Finally, as consolidations occur and enrollment shifts, the district may examine the need for boundary changes in the future to balance and optimize school enrollment as prescribed in Board Policy 5.44.
For more details see the full MFP and the Five-Year Capital Plan from the Oct. 1 Board Agenda.