School board approves attendance zone for new K‑8 "K8PP," shifting about 750 students from Freedom Crossing Academy

The St. Johns County School Board on a unanimous vote approved Plan A for attendance zones for the new K‑8 school referred to in board materials as K8PP, moving portions of the Rivertown community into the new school and reducing enrollment pressures at nearby schools.

The approval follows a statutorily required rule‑making process and a 30‑day advertisement period. Nicole Kovich, executive director of planning and government relations, told the board that the proposed K8PP zone largely follows the Rivertown development boundary and restores that community to a single attendance area instead of the split that had been imposed earlier to manage growth.

Kovich said the new school will open with kindergarten through seventh grade in its first year so that students currently enrolled in rising eighth grade will remain at their current middle schools for one final year to avoid moving students through three schools in three years. She gave the board projected enrollment numbers for the opening year and short‑term growth: an initial opening projection of about 981 students (after accounting for rising 8th graders who will stay at their current schools) and growth to roughly 1,216 students in subsequent years.

Under Plan A, Freedom Crossing Academy would see the largest enrollment reduction — roughly 753 students — dropping from about 1,965 to a projected 1,302 for the coming school year. Cunningham Creek Elementary would lose about 186 students and Switzerland Point Middle School would lose about 111 students to K8PP; Switzerland Point will also retain roughly 32 rising 8th graders who will remain at their current school for the new school year. Kovich said the district used a historical 5% growth assumption for the rapidly developing area.

Board members moved and seconded Plan A and held the required public hearing before voting. The board noted that a hardship waiver process will remain available for families who can demonstrate hardship and wish to remain at their current school; Kovich said the hardship window typically opens in March.

Why it matters: the change is intended to reunify the Rivertown neighborhood under one attendance zone, relieve severe crowding at Freedom Crossing Academy and allow district planners to allocate staffing and facilities for the new school. The board’s vote sets in motion placement work for staff and further operational planning for the new school year.

The board motion to adopt Plan A passed; there was no recorded opposition. Public comment specific to the rezoning was not raised at the approval hearing.