DCPS unveils revised plans for Venetia Elementary School
A revised site plan of the new build for Venetia Elementary School.
DCPS has revised its plans for a new build at Venetia Elementary School, reducing its capacity from 1,200 to 840 students.
The updated plan for the incoming K through 5 campus was presented to the Venetia Elementary community and area residents during a community meeting at Hyde Grove Elementary School – Venetia’s temporary home – on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
With the new build currently only intended for a consolidation of Venetia and Ortega elementary schools, DCPS Chief Operations Officer Jim Culbert told attendees there are no current plans to adjust Venetia’s existing boundaries.
Culbert said the updated plans will be presented to the school board at its November meeting. At its October board meeting, the board voted down the proposed contract with STG Contracting Group, Inc., with board members expressing concern about the previous plan for 1,200 students.
According to findings from the completed traffic study, the reduced capacity of 840 students would result in “19 buses and 173 parent pickup vehicles during afternoon dismissal compared to initial estimate of 26 buses and 285 parent pickup vehicles for 1,200 [students].”
The updated plans, with a lower student capacity number and decreased traffic impact, received mixed feedback from those in attendance. Venetia resident Susan Donnell said the plan was a step in the right direction, but traffic was still a concern.
“I feel like you are hearing us,” Donnell told DCPS officials during public comment. “We’re not quite there. We’re still concerned about getting in and getting out.”
Venetia Elementary parent Dr. Deborah Eichelberger, however, was happy about the revisions.
“I am extremely pleased with the new design that you have come back with,” Eichelberger told Culbert. “I thought 1,200 students was a lot for the school to go to – I think it would have been a sticker shock – but 840 is a good compromise…”
Residents have previously suggested creating an alternate access road to the school via the parking lot of nearby Winn-Dixie. At the Sept. 29 meeting, Culbert informed attendees that conversations with the property owners of that parcel are ongoing. Culbert shared more details with Resident News after the meeting.
“If at all possible, that’s one of the things that we would really like to see is having another entrance off of the main road that comes into the property,” Culbert said. “So we’re working with them [the property owners]. They’re cooperating, they’re talking, they’re working through some issues. They are down south, and that’s a little bit more challenging than having somebody here local in Jacksonville, but yeah we’re having good conversation.”
DCPS District 5 Board Member Reginald Blount told Resident News he was encouraged by the feedback from the meeting, though he acknowledged that more work needs to be done.
“That’s why we voted it down at the last board [meeting] because we said, ‘You all got to take this back, work it, and bring us something back that the community can live with,’” Blount said. “So I think, overall, they [the community] probably can accept it if we make some modifications that’ll make it a little better.”
Blount said he would like to hold “more intimate” community meetings with the Venetia community, likely at Timuquana Country Club as plans continue to evolve.