WGV so many questions...please help (Jacksonville, Plantation: houses, to buy, best schools) - Florida (FL) - Page 3 - City-Data Forum

heatrnnr · 05-04-2010, 08:34 AM

You should take a look at Sevilla. I currently live there and there is alot of activity going on now. In the last year there has been a huge jump in building out the community and I feel they will have it completely built out in the next year. We have made tremendous progress in building the HOA up so there is now a social committee with activities ongoing. I don't feel like you can go wrong with the area in general. The public schools are the best in the state. I would just come down and take a few days to go around the communities and talk to the residents if you can. One thing to keep in mind is the HOA Fees/CDD fees and what they include. For example in Sevilla our hoa is 570 and the CDD is 1500. The CDD is included in your property tax bill and the HOA is charged each Jan. This may seem high, however in our community the CDD covers your irrigation water and electricity to pump the water in. Therefore my monthly water bill is only 60 bucks for a family of 4. I've heard that other communities are much higher when you pay the irrigation yourself. The other thing to keep in mind is the CDD is fixed for the 30 year term while the HOA fees can go up each year. Sevilla's HOA has been steady for the 2 years I have been here.

donisanasfan · 05-04-2010, 12:11 PM

How can you make a comment about schools being "the best in the state". I'm sorry but that is just misleading at best. Opinions are one thing and I am full of them myself. Facts, however, are facts and I have not seen any that say that Mill Creek is the best in the state, much less in St Johns county. I can think of 5 or 6 off the top of my head that I know are ranked higher, including the school my kids attend PVPV/Rawlings. I'm all for pumping up your own community, but at least try and be a little factual.

SlickP · 05-04-2010, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donisanasfan

How can you make a comment about schools being "the best in the state". I'm sorry but that is just misleading at best. Opinions are one thing and I am full of them myself. Facts, however, are facts and I have not seen any that say that Mill Creek is the best in the state, much less in St Johns county. I can think of 5 or 6 off the top of my head that I know are ranked higher, including the school my kids attend PVPV/Rawlings. I'm all for pumping up your own community, but at least try and be a little factual.

Where did you read in that person's post that Mill Creek was the best in the state? It stated "The public schools are the best in the state." proabably meaning all of St. Johns County.

donisanasfan · 05-05-2010, 04:17 AM

Well lets see. He was talking about WGV, Sevilla in particular. This thread is about WGV. If he was talking about St Johns County as a whole, then I was wrong to call him out. However. that is not the take I, or most readers would have from his post.

heatrnnr · 05-05-2010, 07:09 AM

Just to clear things up, I was talking about st. john's county schools in general. Personally I feel within the school district you will have fluctuations from year to year on which school is best, however the school district as a whole has done a great job and is the best in the state from everything I have seen. If I am mistaken then let me know.

donisanasfan · 05-05-2010, 11:10 AM

I stand corrected then. Mill Creek though, is among the bottom in St Johns county and has had serious overcrowding issues. If public education is important, I would avoid Mill Creek for elementary . I am sure there will be those who will swear by their own school , but the test scores are what they are.

heatrnnr · 05-05-2010, 11:35 AM

Yes they have overcrowding issues which is why an expansion project was just approved. Regarding my initial comment, I wasn't even talking about elementary schools in particular, I was talking about the entire school district up to high school. Regardless, your comment about avoiding mill creek is misguided. While other schools may have scored slightly higher on a standardized test, Mill Creek is still rated an "A" school. If the initial poster wants to get more information on the schools I would point them to the St. Johns County website to avoid anyone trying to pump up their own school. While there you can also see the planned developements that are already zoned in the area. My kids are 2 and 4 and while currently the area sends kids to Nease, eventually a high school is slated for the wgv area.

SlickP · 05-05-2010, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heatrnnr

Yes they have overcrowding issues which is why an expansion project was just approved. Regarding my initial comment, I wasn't even talking about elementary schools in particular, I was talking about the entire school district up to high school. Regardless, your comment about avoiding mill creek is misguided. While other schools may have scored slightly higher on a standardized test, Mill Creek is still rated an "A" school. If the initial poster wants to get more information on the schools I would point them to the St. Johns County website to avoid anyone trying to pump up their own school. While there you can also see the planned developements that are already zoned in the area. My kids are 2 and 4 and while currently the area sends kids to Nease, eventually a high school is slated for the wgv area.

Don't sweat "donisanasfan", everywhere other than where he/she lives is not up to par.....

Dappleganger · 05-05-2010, 02:21 PM

Our children began attending Cunningham Creek Elementary in NW St. Johns county during the time when it was at its most populated and indeed, the overcrowding was a hassle at times. However, as soon as Timberlin and Hickory Creek went online there was almost instant relief. That being said, the quality of instruction was just as good and in fact never changed, nor did any opportunities change for the children. School overcrowding is just a fact of life which one must endure from time to time in public schools--nothing is perfect and it's certainly easier to endure if you know it won't last forever.

While Mill Creek may not have as high of test scores as the other nearby elementary schools, nonetheless the teacher instruction is just as good and in fact a number of teachers came out of CCE, Hickory and Timberlin. The same high standards are in place, the same school policies, the same teacher training, the same curriculum, etc. I really don't see the need to be too concerned unless your child has special needs or is gifted, and in that case you should contact the school admin office to find out where your child would need to go.

Hope this helps.

Dappleganger · 05-05-2010, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donisanasfan

I stand corrected then. Mill Creek though, is among the bottom in St Johns county and has had serious overcrowding issues. If public education is important, I would avoid Mill Creek for elementary . I am sure there will be those who will swear by their own school , but the test scores are what they are.

I would not advise judging a school only by its test scores or how crowded it is. Test scores only tell part of the story. Many people in this state have made a huge mistake in putting great stock in FCAT scores when in fact, graduating seniors are still having to take remedial college courses. I know for a fact that quite a few parents at Bartram Trail and Creekside High have kids who are struggling w/college and need to take remedial writing, math and science courses--these are 'A' students who were enrolled in honors classes and some even took AP courses with excellent FCAT scores. Compared to the schools we were used to in northern VA, BTHS/Creekside/Nease, are nothing more than 'B' to 'C' schools in reality. Compare those to schools in NJ, CT, MA, etc. probably even another grade less.

Just take all this ratings info with a HUGE grain of salt. The key to your child succeeding is parental involvement no matter where they go.