New Venetia Elementary plan a prototype for future Duval elementary schools

It was standing room only at Hyde Grove Elementary on Tuesday, with 100 people packed into the cafeteria, sitting in rows at child-sized lunch tables to hear about Duval Schools’ revised plan for Venetia Elementary. 

The district now proposes to build a Pre-K-5 school that will seat 840 students on the site where Venetia currently stands. The building’s design will include Italian revival architectural details to help it more seamlessly fit with the neighborhood’s style. The school’s name and mascot are not expected to change.

Last month, district officials presented a plan to begin design work on a larger, 1,200-seat Venetia building — but after hearing from dozens of public commenters who opposed the plan, voted not to approve the contract.

The currently proposed Venetia building is still considered a prototype for future elementary schools across the district. “The model is intentionally flexible and can be adapted” to accommodate approximately between 840 and 1,200 students, district spokesperson Laureen Ricks tells Jacksonville Today.

District COO Jim Culbert said plans still call for consolidating Ortega Elementary into Venetia Elementary and adding five VPK classes, which should help expand the school’s student body. The School Board has already approved Ortega’s closure but will need to approve the construction of Venetia’s new building at an upcoming meeting.

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The district’s plan also includes outdoor play spaces, athletic fields and courts, and a dog park on the back of the property.

Previous community conversations about Venetia’s planned rebuild turned contentious. Residents of the surrounding area worried that increasing the number of students at the school from around 300 to 1,200 would create traffic problems.

This week’s meeting was also at times contentious. When parents stood to speak in support of a new building for Venetia, those in the crowd who worry the traffic will overwhelm the neighborhood loudly booed the parents speaking.

“Everyone’s so concerned about the trees and not the children that go there,” Venetia parent Janelle Cox said after quieting a round of raucous boos. “We are concerned about our children getting the best education they can — and this school is a fantastic school. I never have any concerns.”

Venetia earned an A grade last year in state academic rankings and a B for each of the two years prior. Its student population is majority-minority, and about a third of its students are economically disadvantaged. About half of Ortega’s students are economically disadvantaged. It earned a C last year and B’s the two previous years. 

Culbert said the district has completed a traffic study and submitted it to the city of Jacksonville for feedback. It estimates the school will need room for 173 vehicles in its drop-off/pick-up line and 19 school buses. The proposed design includes room for up to 250 vehicles and up to 23 bus parking spaces. City spokesperson Phil Perry tells Jacksonville Today the city hasn’t completed its review of the study yet.

School Board member Melody Bolduc, whose Mandarin district includes several large elementary schools, told the crowd that her experience with larger schools has been positive.

“We are going to sometimes be inconvenienced by raising children right. We’re going to be inconvenienced by traffic. We’re going to be inconvenienced with time,” Bolduc said. “Children can be an inconvenience. But they’re worth it.”

Updated: This story and its headline were updated after publication to add the district’s confirmation that the Venetia Elementary plan is a prototype for future schools.