New School Open Enrollment Law (near, 2014)

[sithlord72]

This bill is going to be a disaster. With the taxes going up in SJC, now SJC residents will be subsidizing students from outside counties. If you read the bill, it also says it doesnt affect athletic eligibility, meaning a school who wants to promote and put as a priority its academics, can start having students who are more talented in athletics and thereby ruin the school athletically. ( example even though its college...see Rutgers moving to Big Ten).

I for one dont want my taxes going up to subsidize students from county school districts that are less performing. Choice doesnt mean making every school district brought down to the lowest common denominator.

Any gubernatorial candidate ( Dem or Rep) in 2018 that runs on a campaign to eliminate this monstrosity gets my vote.

[Juaneo]

I know I'm a bit late to this party, but I read through the entire thread (yes, even the petty comments that were thrown around) and just wanted to throw this out, since no one else seemed to suggest it......what if the out of county people had to pay some sort of "Non-resident tax" to send their kids to out of county schools? $2000-$3000 per year? Maybe more, maybe less, just a thought. It's basically "tuition" to attend an out of county school but it would make some parents decide how badly they want to send their kids there when you have to pay to play, AND pay for the transportation as others have pointed out.

My family and I are still a couple of years away from moving down to Fla. We've narrowed it down to Port St Lucie and St Augustine (this year at least ). In the past we've considered the Orlando area, the Tampa area, Jacksonville. Schools are important as we have two girls that will be attending high school in Fla so I'm curious to see how this whole thing plays out. BTW....love all the great people and info here on CD. Haven't posted much but have read and read until my eyes were burning over the last few years. Love this site and have recommended it to friends when they consider relocating anywhere.

[snuffybear]

But all the schools in St. Johns County are getting overcrowded, with St. Johns residents. So why should Duval County residents get to attend St. Johns schools? I think if they want to attend St. Johns county schools, they need to live in SJC.

I think the cost per pupil is way more than $2-3K. The point is a good one (say $8K or whatever the true cost of educating is) but it gets complicated because there may be room in 5th in elem but then not in 6th at middle school, etc.

Also, I think it creates the wrong sense of priorities for athletics - ie creates "superteams" rather than kids representing the community where they live.

[Florida2014]

I think this law is essentially moot in St Johns County. Nearly all of the northern-most SJC schools are either at capacity or above capacity so any Duval students looking to head a bit south to a different school would have to travel much further south to find openings. I just can't imagine there are *that* many parents who are willing to drive a child 45+ minutes each direction to a school in central or southern SJC. I would think the kids from Flager/Putnam/Clay would have a more reasonable opportunity to come to SJC as a daily commute; however, their public schools are pretty good from what I understand.

I don't like the law either but I think in our neck of the woods this is much ado about nothing. At most, a small handful of kids might be attending your county's school.

[snuffybear]

I tend to agree with you FLA2014. I'm curious how they are defining a school to be "at capacity".

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by snuffybear

I tend to agree with you FLA2014. I'm curious how they are defining a school to be "at capacity".

I think each classroom has certain capacity constraints and based on the number of portables we are seeing at many of our schools we're way past capacity. I've heard "50% over capacity" floated around when speaking of Patriot Oaks Academy.

[rtloucks]

I live in Minnesota and we have always had open enroll. It creates a better life for everyone. THe competition for schools to perform better is greater. Parents can now bring their kids to schools closer to where they work instead where they live, kids get to go to schools that have the programs they are interested in rather than miss out, and the list of reasons goes on and on. I myself went to a different high school all the way across town so that I could play baseball for a winning program that earned me scholarship money. One of my sons currently goes to a different middles school than we are zoned for because of the after school clubs they have and to take part in math and science leagues. Yes he is there for good, and actually in MN they are not just in that school for good but in that district for good now unless we change. There is always room. People come and go creating more space. More teachers are hired, more classrooms are available etc. I don't think this hass ever been a problem. To be honest. The only people who actually use this generally have a valid reason. Transportation is not provided to kids outside the school zone so parent still have to get their kids there so most parents will still send their kids to the schools they are zoned for because they dont have the means or time to get kids to and from school during the work day.

[sunlover23]

At this point Durbin Creek Elem, PV/PV Rawlings, Webster and Murray middle are the only ones with room to spare..

St. Johns County School District open enrollment plan fine-tuned | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com

[Ivan Putski]

Originally Posted by sunlover23

At this point Durbin Creek Elem, PV/PV Rawlings, Webster and Murray middle are the only ones with room to spare..

St. Johns County School District open enrollment plan fine-tuned | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com

Wow, thanks for this article. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe PV/PV Rawlings wanted to use portables but many parents were against it...

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by Ivan Putski

Wow, thanks for this article. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe PV/PV Rawlings wanted to use portables but many parents were against it...

Did the district for PVPV shrink when Valley Ridge Academy opened? I imagine that Ocean Palms was packed with a lot more Nocatee Kids, but I don't really know. There is some new construction now, but most of the neighborhoods only have 40-60 houses.