More than 150 people gathered in the Oak View Middle School cafeteria Tuesday evening to hear from district officials about the school’s upcoming conversion into a pre-K through eighth grade school.
The school, which currently serves fifth through eighth grade students, will convert to pre-K-8 in August. The renovation plans follow Newberry Elementary School’s conversion into a charter school next school year.
In a March 12 meeting, the district estimated the cost of renovations to be around $32 million, with the new buildings completed by August 2028.
Alachua County Public Schools has already begun the renovation process, relocating the soccer field and demolishing the track, according to the district’s presentation.
Modular buildings, which district representatives described as more modern portables, will inhabit the area where the soccer field and track once lay. Permanent buildings will be constructed in a different site on the school’s campus.
The pre-K through third grade students will attend school in the modular buildings, where they will have separate lunch rooms, offices, drop-off locations and bus loops. These facilities will remain separate with the construction of permanent buildings.
While the current drop-off enters from a main road, the proposed elementary school drop-off entails entering a neighborhood road. Parents dropping off their pre-K through third grade students next school year can expect to enter the school from Southwest Fourth Avenue. Traffic for middle school drop-off enters from Southwest 250th Street.
In a notecard-facilitated Q&A session Tuesday, parents raised alarm with the drop-off location, asking about pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
One parent wrote, “Where is drop off? If it is on Fourth, are you aware it is the only way in and out of the very place?”
“Will cross walks with flashing lights be added by the school for student safety when no crossguards are present?” another notecard read. “Just today, I witnessed cars not stopping at the crosswalk for students.”
The district assured parents a sidewalk would be installed to help pedestrian foot-traffic. District representatives said crosswalks and crossguards are not an ACPS responsibility, but information will be passed to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.
“Related to crossing guards, that comes from ACSO,” said Deputy Superintendent Cathy Atria. “I feel confident that we will share the information that needs to be shared for the people, for the entities and urban entities that make those decisions.”
The district also touched on additional transportation concerns.
Bus information, like bus number and pickup time, will be provided two weeks before the start of the school year. Middle and elementary school students will ride the bus together, but they will have assigned seats and be dropped off in different locations.
Additional facilities and resources provided to younger students includes a media center, special classrooms for art, music and physical education, and playground equipment. The district plans to build three playgrounds on the school campus: one for pre-K students, one for kindergarten through second grade students, and one for third through fifth grade students.
In addition to facility changes, the district also shared operational details, like start and end times, with attendees. Pre-K through fifth grade students will begin school at 8 a.m. and finish at 2:07 p.m. The sixth through eighth grade students will start at the same time and finish just seven minutes later.
The school is currently set to follow early release day schedules in place for elementary school students. In 2024, ACPS switched to early release days once a month. However, the district returned to shortened days every Wednesday in 2025.
The decision for Oak View K-8 School to follow early release day patterns depends on School Advisory Council and school board review. If the school follows this pattern, elementary school students will end school at 12:52 p.m. every Wednesday. Middle school students, who typically don’t follow early release patterns, would also get shortened days ending just one minute later.
The district also assured parents no changes would be made to the school’s Center for Advanced Academics and Technology magnet program. All students currently enrolled in the magnet will still be enrolled next school year. ACPS is considering expanding the number of seats offered in the program to accommodate an influx of students.
The district also mentioned its zoning exceptions application, which allows students to apply to attend a school they are not zoned for under the new boundary maps. This will allow students entering the final grade at their currently zoned school to apply to attend that school, despite being rezoned.
Several parents asked the district how they can rescind their charter school acceptance.
Parents looking to un-enroll can email Newberry Community School’s principal, Lacy Roberts, said Kim Neal, director of full-time enrollment and state reporting. She also suggested parents “cc” her in the email.
Dates for school tours and orientation events have not yet been set. Incoming kindergarten students may attend the school’s Kindergarten Kick-off on May 6 at 3:30 p.m.
Contact Grace Larson at glarson@alligator.org. Follow her on X @graceellarson.
Grace Larson is a first-year journalism student, currently serving as K-12 education reporter. She has previously served as city/county commission reporter for The Alligator's metro desk. In her free time, she enjoys staying active and hanging out with her family.
