SJC School District adds 74 portables to accommodate growth

The St. Johns County School District added 74 new portables to accommodate more than 15-hundred new students this 2015-16 school year.

“We don’t have the dollars to build schools,” said St. Johns County Superintendent Joseph Joyner. “Putting in portables is less than ideal, but we don’t have a choice at this time.”

The district spends $191,000 each month renting some 300 relocatable classrooms.

Valley Ridge Academy opened its doors last year but it already had to add 20 portables.

Joyner said they have property to break ground on new schools but lack of money is holding them back.

“This is not due to a lack of planning,” said Superintendent Joyner. “We know where the neighborhoods are.  We know how many children they are typically going to bring. We know where the growth is happening. We just don’t have the resources.”

In the next 10 years, the district will need to build as many as 20 schools to keep up with the growth.

This November voters will be able to decide if they want a half-cent sales tax which would increase funding for new schools. If the sales tax is voted in, it would stay into effect for 10 years.

The superintendent said while the sales tax wouldn't solve all of their problems, it will certainly help them catch up.

"The fact that we’re two schools behind now and we’ll be four schools behind a year from now means there’s some urgency,” Joyner said.