New School Open Enrollment Law (Sawgrass: for sale, home, school district)

[snuffybear]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

And how would that work if in the 2nd year the district suddenly has several more kids in that age range, does little Johnny have to go back across the county border back to Clay County?

Nope, the law says that "little Johnny" gets to stay forever and can't be sent back.

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by snuffybear

Nope, the law says that "little Johnny" gets to stay forever and can't be sent back.

See, that's the problem with this then......it could very well take away spots from kids new to the neighborhood. So now Little Johnny's family would pay the premium to live in SJC yet have to be driven to a Duval/Clay county school every day? It's ridiculous.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

We regularly interact with four couples in St Johns Co. One couple is African American, one couple is Indian, another couple has a hispanic wife and yet another couple's Dad is Hispanic......all live in St Johns Co. All specifically live here for the schools. When we were toying with the idea of moving to the beaches, I reached out to the African American couple who both had gone to Duval schools around that area, both said they would not consider moving to that area having first-hand knowledge of those particular schools. Does that make them "racist" as well? How does that work with your theory?

My family is bi-racial, I went to a school that was 1/3 non-white.....I have zero problems with racial integration and, in fact, I think learning to interact with people of all different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds is very important for children.

Are there racial undertones for certain people who might oppose this bill? Certainly. But I think to throw the race card over everyone who opposes this bill is unfair and shows ignorance on your part.

I don't think I've done that. And - like they say - "if the shoe fits...".

To me - the only legitimate objection to this bill is that it *might* result in the same school overcrowding that all the new school construction is supposed to minimize/eliminate. So you wind up with the portables that are being used now. But that is something that remains to be seen. And - as with the school class size laws - these things may need to be "tweaked" down the road after people see how they work in practice as opposed to theory.

In all honesty - I think there will be more squawking about school redistricting down the road than this issue (I think there's a big one coming up in the relatively near future - like 2017-18). I'm not sure why. Because anyone who looks at all the new construction has to realize that population size in parts of SJC is changing - often very rapidly. And - although most of this new construction is in places like Nocatee and the 210 corridor - there's a fair amount elsewhere (don't know how many houses are in the new development just south of JTB on the east side of A1A - but it looks like about 30-40). Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

See, that's the problem with this then......it could very well take away spots from kids new to the neighborhood. So now Little Johnny's family would pay the premium to live in SJC yet have to be driven to a Duval/Clay county school every day? It's ridiculous.

No. Like I said - you'll just wind up with portables. Robyn

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by RamenAddict

Many neighborhoods in the Duval periphery that you've mentioned already have really good schools, so I don't think those parents are going to be the ones that are going to be driving to get their kids into SJC schools. There may be one or two, but I think it's more likely to be kids in neighborhoods with lower performing schools closer to the center of Jacksonville who have parents willing to drive 45 minutes or more round trip to get their kid into a decent SJC school. It's still cheaper than private school tuition and may be cheaper than buying a new home in SJC, but you can bet if you are going to put forth that effort, the kids will likely perform better.

Yes, I actually specifically mentioned Mandarin and the Beaches having good schools in an earlier post. I just used those as examples as I know the areas fairly well and know they are both very near SJC schools.

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

No. Like I said - you'll just wind up with portables. Robyn

That we as SJC residents paid for with sales tax monies. Great.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

That we as SJC residents paid for with sales tax monies. Great.

It's a sales tax, not a property tax. All SJC residents did is vote for it. Anyone who comes into SJC and buys taxable items will pay sales tax. I actually buy a lot of taxable items in Duval county since that's where I work and where a lot of the shopping is in this area. There's still very little in the area of SJC being discussed where you can really buy a whole lot of taxable items, other than restaurants and whatnot, but those are just as likely to be frequented by tourists or residents of Duval or other counties.

FWIW, I think this law is a terrible idea, but I don't think it's necessarily going to be a disaster for SJC. I think it's more likely to be a problem within a district if a person is living in a bad district and wants to go to a relatively nearby school that is zoned for a good school. This isn't so much a problem here as it is in other counties where certain schools are equidistant from someone's house but the quality difference is extreme.

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by RamenAddict

It's a sales tax, not a property tax. All SJC residents did is vote for it. Anyone who comes into SJC and buys taxable items will pay sales tax. I actually buy a lot of taxable items in Duval county since that's where I work and where a lot of the shopping is in this area. There's still very little in the area of SJC being discussed where you can really buy a whole lot of taxable items, other than restaurants and whatnot, but those are just as likely to be frequented by tourists or residents of Duval or other counties.

FWIW, I think this law is a terrible idea, but I don't think it's necessarily going to be a disaster for SJC. I think it's more likely to be a problem within a district if a person is living in a bad district and wants to go to a relatively nearby school that is zoned for a good school. This isn't so much a problem here as it is in other counties where certain schools are equidistant from someone's house but the quality difference is extreme.

I think a lot of SJC residents go into Duval to buy goods, I don't think it's the other way around. Regardless, I'd be willing to bet had this open enrollment bill been presented and passed prior to the sales tax vote that it would not have passed. I would have had to re-think my vote. I support smart expansion for certain locales, not a state-wide decision like this that has ramifications beyond sending Johnny to a new school.

[snuffybear]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

To me - the only legitimate objection to this bill is that it *might* result in the same school overcrowding that all the new school construction is supposed to minimize/eliminate. So you wind up with the portables that are being used now. But that is something that remains to be seen. And - as with the school class size laws - these things may need to be "tweaked" down the road after people see how they work in practice as opposed to theory.

In all honesty - I think there will be more squawking about school redistricting down the road than this issue (I think there's a big one coming up in the relatively near future - like 2017-18). I'm not sure why. Because anyone who looks at all the new construction has to realize that population size in parts of SJC is changing - often very rapidly. And - although most of this new construction is in places like Nocatee and the 210 corridor - there's a fair amount elsewhere (don't know how many houses are in the new development just south of JTB on the east side of A1A - but it looks like about 30-40). Robyn

- Parents will move their kids for safer schools too, not just "best most motivated".

- It will also result in unfilled schools in Duval County and result in school closings. Same has happened in major cities like Philadelphia and Chicago due to charter schools.

- Agree, the construction is just happening too fast for schools to keep up.

- They are clearing trees across from Sawmill Lakes on 210 down to Roundabout in PVB - does anyone know if houses are going in there? I thought that land was part of the state-owned or Gate-owned land negotiated in PVHS swap?

[snuffybear]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

No. Like I said - you'll just wind up with portables. Robyn

But how can they justify more portables, when those are only put in if the school is "filled".

That's a loophole for the school district I think.