William M. Raines High School opened on Jan.y 25, 1965. It
was named in honor of longtime local educator who was principal of segregated high
schools before his death in 1950. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on May 15, 2026 at 2:58 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
The Duval school district will be ready to start rebuilding Raines High School a year earlier than planned, administrators said this week.
A handful of other schools also will receive attention sooner than originally scheduled, including Biscayne Elementary, Hendricks Avenue Elementary and Ruth Upson Elementary, among others, if the School Board approves a new timeline at their June meeting.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
During a workshop with the School Board this week, Superintendent Chris Bernier said the district is consistently saving money on construction projects now and so it can afford to move some projects up in the queue.
A district spokesperson declined to share additional details about the Raines project, beyond what Bernier already told the board.
“Many aspects of this project are still under consideration,” spokesperson Sonya Duke-Bolden wrote in an email. “As plans begin to take shape, we will share updates with the Raines High School community and the media.”
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Schedule for Raines and others
Bernier said the district wants to shuffle its schedule to start work on Biscayne Elementary as soon as possible because it’s in especially bad condition. Biscayne, San Jose and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools will receive classroom additions beginning next school year.
Jean Ribault Middle School also needs major maintenance as soon as possible, Bernier said, and so work will begin on it next year too.
“I know some people will say ‘Where’s my school?’ Happy to arrange tours to Biscayne or Ribault [middle school] if somebody’s wondering,” Bernier said. “All of our schools could use work — there’s no question about it — but this team is really working to prioritize the right work.”
The revised calendar calls for Raines’ rebuild to now be funded in 2027-28.
It’s a project the district has been discussing for at least six years. Former Superintendent Diana Greene’s facilities plan — The Bold Plan — included new buildings for both Raines and Ribault high schools.
Ribault has already been rebuilt. Its new facility opened in August after about two years of construction. It cost $120.5 million.
The pair of schools, which are only about a mile from each other, are vestiges of the decades Duval Schools spent operating racially segregated schools. Ribault opened in 1957 and served white students. Raines opened on Jan. 25, 1965, as a high school for Jacksonville’s Black students.
The district’s most recent published updates estimate it will cost $131 million to rebuild Raines — but it’s unclear if that figure already accounts for the cost-savings officials say they’ve been able to attain in recent projects.
Planning is in progress for a rebuilt Baldwin Middle-Senior High School — something the district said last year would cost more than $140 million.
In 2020, Duval County voters approved a 15-year half-cent sales tax to help modernize the district’s aging facilities. A number of new schools have already opened and more are planned, along with major upgrades like classroom additions and HVAC and electrical system upgrades.
The district’s Duval Reimagine dashboard features information about projects funded by the tax.
