PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The School District of Palm Beach County is moving forward with plans to build a new high school in Riviera Beach by 2030, while also proposing significant changes to elementary school boundaries in the area.
The Advisory Boundary Committee accepted a proposal during a meeting Thursday night that would consolidate two elementary schools and rezone students to accommodate the construction timeline for the new high school.
The new high school will be built where Inlet Grove Community High School currently operates. The charter school campus will be demolished and rebuilt ahead of the 2030-2031 school year, though no official name has been announced for the new school.
Currently, many Riviera Beach students must travel to Palm Beach Gardens High School, Dwyer High School and Palm Beach Lakes High School to attend public high school. Suncoast High School is the only public high school currently located in Riviera Beach.
"The planning process for this began about a year and a half ago," according to district officials.
To accommodate the construction timeline, Inlet Grove High School students will temporarily relocate to Lincoln Elementary School's campus starting in the 2028-2029 school year. Lincoln Elementary will undergo renovations beginning in 2026 to prepare for the high school students.
The elementary school rezoning proposal, if approved by the School Board, would take effect in the 2026-2027 school year. The plan would consolidate Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School and West Riviera Elementary School attendance zones into a single area.
During Thursday's meeting, a community member expressed concern that the district had not adequately informed families about the school rezoning process.
However, district officials noted that the process has been discussed at board meetings over the past year and a half, in addition to the district emailing notices earlier this month to all families in affected areas about the Advisory Boundary Committee meeting.
The proposal will now move to a workshop, though no date has been set. Following the workshop, the proposal will be presented to Superintendent Michael J. Burke, who will make his recommendation to the school board for a final vote.
More information about the school zone rezoning process is available here.
