Q: Do you have an update on the contract for the new school to be built in RiverTown?
A: At our June 13 school board meeting, we accepted a bid to construct the RiverTown school for a cost of $59.4 million. We’ll be using a new contractor to us, Wharton-Smith. This will be a transitional K – 8 school, built with the same footprint as our smaller K – 8 schools, like Liberty Pines and Patriot Oaks. This school is scheduled to open at the start of the 2025 – 26 school year, basically a year behind the Beacon Lakes and Shearwater schools. When there are enough students to warrant, we will build an elementary school in RiverTown and then this school will become a middle school.
Q: What is the status of the two other schools under construction?
A: On May 30, we held the topping off ceremony for the Shearwater school. Walls are presently scheduled to be tilted up at the Beacon Lakes school, making it just behind Shearwater. Both schools are scheduled to open in time for the 2024 – 25 school year.
Q: Can you share about the recently ratified teacher contract?
A: We are very pleased that at our June 13 school board meeting, we signed off on the 2022 – 23 teacher contract. Pay increases will be retroactive to July 1, 2022. The contract also included one month’s insurance forgiveness for employees and a provision for differentiated pay for hard to fill positions. In July, we’ll begin the process again for the 2023 – 24 school year. We look forward to a positive negotiation with our teachers and staff. I and the rest of the board remain committed to compensating our employees to the highest level we are able.
Q: What else is happening in the district over the summer?
A: While we continue to host virtual and in person employment fairs, local principals report to me that they have most if not all of their vacancies filled.
Over the summer, our administrators and teachers are busy trying to better understand the new standards by attending workshops to learn how to deliver them, especially in reading.
We are also getting ready for our budget hearings. Our budget department has been working hard to balance the needs of increased teacher salaries with other needs and costs in the district.
Q: Do you have anything else to share with District 1?
A: Please register your children, especially incoming kindergarteners, for school as soon as possible. This goes especially for new families who are moving into the area over the summer. Registration may be done at their local school, and most of the paperwork is done online. There is an address locator on our main website (www.stjohns.k12.fl.us) that will let residents know exactly which schools their home is zoned for. We encourage parents to register as soon as they can.
Q: How can our readers contact you?
A: They can email me at beverly.slough@stjohns.k12.fl.us or call me at (904) 547-7510.
