BOCA RATON, Fla. — Which students will attend a brand new elementary school in Boca Raton?
Palm Beach County School Board members on Wednesday unanimously approved the attendance zone boundaries for Blue Lake Elementary School, which is currently under construction and due to open at the start of the 2022/23 academic year on Aug. 10.
The boundaries, however, still need to be approved a second time by school board members at a later date before they become official.
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The school, located at 3300 North Military Trail next to Don Estridge High Tech Middle School, was built to relieve overcrowding at several area schools.
The boundary map recommended by the School District of Palm Beach County's Advisory Boundary Committee runs from Clint Moore Road south to Palmetto Park Road, and then covers an area between Powerline Road east to Airport Road.
"They vetted multiple options until they got to the option that met most of everyone's needs," Superintendent Mike Burke said Wednesday. "You never make everyone completely happy when you have to change boundaries. But I feel like they were very responsive to the community's concerns."
Once the boundaries are approved at a second reading by school board members, some students who currently attend Calusa Elementary School, Verde K-8 School, J.C. Mitchell Elementary School, and Addison Mizner School will be rezoned and shifted to a different school.
According to school district documents, one of the biggest impacts of the rezoning would be on Calusa Elementary School, one of the district’s most over-enrolled schools.
The school was originally built for about 750 students, but is currently enrolling more than 1,200 students.
The addition of Blue Lake Elementary School will relieve overcrowding at Calusa Elementary School and lower enrollment for the 2022/23 academic year to around 900 students, district documents show.
"That low-to-mid-900s enrollment range will allow the school to sufficiently operate, while accommodating sufficient growth," said Jason Link, the manager of the School District of Palm Beach County's school enrollment and demographics department.
In addition, the rezoning will ensure that all five schools will be under capacity at the start of the new school year in August.
According to the attendance zone boundary changes, students who are currently in fourth grade at Calusa Elementary School, Verde K-8 School, J.C. Mitchell Elementary School, and Addison Mizner School will be allowed to remain at those schools for fifth grade, their final year of elementary school.
Kindergarten through third grade students who are the siblings of fourth graders will also be allowed to stay at their current school for the remainder of their elementary years.
Students who will be starting kindergarten in August and currently have a sibling in fourth grade can stay at their currently enrolled school for their elementary years.
"I am so pleased when I look at what you're doing for the students, the siblings of families," said School Board Vice Chair Karen Brill. "It's very hard to split up families."
Some parents, however, expressed their concerns to school board members Wednesday, saying they would like their children to remain in their current schools.
"The students from Verde K-8 that are being rezoned will miss the benefit of priority into a great middle school with a great program," said parent Jacqueline Beroso. "Unfortunately, Blue Lake is a K-5 school. Therefore, it is disheartening to think that the students and families that would like to attend Verde until eighth grade will no longer have the priority into this Choice Program."
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Blue Lake Principal Seth Moldovan is expecting about 750 kindergarten through fifth graders when the school opens in August, with a full capacity of around 900 students.
You can learn more about Blue Lake Elementary School by clicking here.