Venetia Elementary Rebuild Advances With 840-Student Plan, Traffic Study and Ortega Merger

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A joint city and school district planning committee has approved moving forward with a plan to demolish and rebuild Venetia Elementary School as an 840-student campus, according to News4JAX. The Joint Planning Committee reached its decision Friday, Oct. 30, while recommending a traffic study near Roosevelt Boulevard and Timucuan Road before the project proceeds. The proposal, reduced from an earlier 1,200-student design, now moves toward a final Duval County School Board decision as the district prepares to consolidate Ortega Elementary into Venetia after the 2027-28 school year.

Joint Planning Committee advances the rebuilding plan

The Joint Planning Committee, which includes representatives of the city and Duval County Public Schools, met Friday, Oct. 30, and approved moving forward with the district's master facility plan for Venetia Elementary, according to News4JAX reporter Heather Bazley. The plan calls for tearing down the existing school and constructing a replacement on the current campus. The committee's action represents another step in the planning process, but the School Board still must make the final decision on construction.

News4JAX reported that the rebuilt school would accommodate 840 students, replacing an earlier proposal designed for 1,200. The smaller capacity followed public pushback over the previous design. The reduction changes the proposed enrollment capacity while maintaining the district's plan to replace the existing building.

The committee's recommendation also includes further examination of traffic conditions before the project moves forward, according to News4JAX. That recommendation concerns vehicle access near Roosevelt Boulevard and Timucuan Road. No schedule for completing the recommended traffic study was provided in the Oct. 30 report.

Capacity reduced from 1,200 to 840 students

The current proposal represents a reduction of 360 seats from the 1,200-student design considered earlier, according to the figures reported by News4JAX and Jacksonville Today. That amounts to a 30% decrease in proposed student capacity. The revised 840-student plan was reported by Jacksonville Today on Oct. 1, before the committee's Oct. 30 action.

Jacksonville Today reported that the September proposal called for a 1,200-student school, but the School Board voted against approving the design contract after dozens of public comments. The subsequent proposal reduced the planned capacity to 840 students. The decision to consider the smaller building preceded the Joint Planning Committee's recommendation to move forward with the revised plan.

The enrollment figures also show how the replacement would compare with the current school population. Jacksonville Today reported that Venetia had approximately 300 students, while the proposed replacement would accommodate 840. That makes the proposed capacity about 2.8 times the reported current enrollment, although the larger building also is intended to accommodate the merger with Ortega Elementary.

Traffic study recommended near Roosevelt and Timucuan

Traffic concerns remain part of the review of the school rebuilding proposal, according to both News4JAX and Jacksonville Today. The Joint Planning Committee recommended a study examining vehicle entry and exit near Roosevelt Boulevard and Timucuan Road before the project advances. News4JAX did not provide a timetable for completing that study.

Jacksonville Today reported Oct. 1 that the district's traffic study identified room for 173 vehicles in the drop-off and pickup line and 19 buses. The proposed design, however, includes capacity for as many as 250 vehicles and 23 bus spaces. Those figures describe the traffic accommodation contemplated in the school plan rather than the number of vehicles expected to arrive on a particular day.

The Oct. 1 Jacksonville Today report also said the city had not finished reviewing the traffic information, according to city spokesperson Phil Perry. Residents had expressed concerns about the effects of expanding a school that currently serves approximately 300 students. The Joint Planning Committee's later recommendation for a traffic study keeps vehicle access among the matters requiring further examination.

The proposed capacity and vehicle accommodation figures are separate measurements. An 840-student building does not, by itself, establish how many vehicles would use the surrounding roads during arrival and dismissal periods. The committee's recommendation addresses the need for additional traffic review before the rebuilding project proceeds.

Ortega Elementary merger remains part of the plan

Duval County Public Schools has voted to consolidate Ortega Elementary into Venetia Elementary at the end of the 2027-28 school year, according to News4JAX. The two schools would have a combined enrollment of approximately 814 students, based on the figures reported by the outlet. The proposed replacement building's capacity of 840 students would be 26 seats higher than that combined enrollment figure.

Jacksonville Today reported that the planned consolidation also includes adding five voluntary prekindergarten classes to the rebuilt Venetia campus. The proposed school would serve prekindergarten through fifth grade on the existing Venetia site. The merger and the replacement building are connected parts of the district's facility planning, although the School Board has already approved Ortega's closure and still must approve construction of the replacement Venetia building.

The approximately 814-student combined enrollment is distinct from the 840-student building capacity. The former describes the reported enrollment associated with combining the schools, while the latter describes the number of students the proposed replacement could accommodate. Both figures were included in the reporting about the district's revised plans.

The consolidation decision also establishes a school-year milestone separate from the construction decision. News4JAX reported that Ortega Elementary is scheduled to be consolidated into Venetia after the 2027-28 school year. The report did not establish a date for the School Board's final vote on the replacement building.

Alternative school sites were considered

District staff examined other possible locations before proceeding with the Venetia rebuilding proposal, according to News4JAX. The alternatives included John Stockton, Timucuan, Ortega, Bay View, Fishweir and Sadie T. Tillis. Staff determined that those locations were unsuitable for the proposed project.

The recommendation to rebuild Venetia therefore follows consideration of several alternative sites reported by News4JAX. The committee moved forward with a plan that keeps the replacement school on the existing Venetia campus. Jacksonville Today's earlier reporting likewise described the revised plan as a prekindergarten-through-fifth-grade school on the current site.

Community response was also documented during the planning process. News4JAX reported that City Council Member Rahman Johnson had received "hundreds of calls, emails, text messages" concerning the proposal. Jacksonville Today separately reported that dozens of public comments preceded the School Board's decision not to approve the earlier 1,200-seat design contract.

Renovation removed as an option

Renovating the existing Venetia Elementary building is no longer under consideration in the plan advanced by the committee, according to News4JAX. Officials said renovation would cost more than tearing down the school and rebuilding it. The outlet did not provide specific dollar amounts for either option.

The proposal advanced Oct. 30 therefore involves demolishing the existing building rather than retaining it through renovation. That distinction is part of the district's master facility plan reviewed by the Joint Planning Committee. The report establishes the officials' stated cost comparison but does not provide figures for calculating the difference.

The planned replacement also incorporates changes from the earlier design proposal. Jacksonville Today reported that the smaller school would feature Italian revival design details. The outlet said the school's name and mascot were not expected to change under the proposal.

Replacement design could serve as a future prototype

The proposed Venetia Elementary design has also been discussed as a possible model for other Duval County elementary schools, according to Jacksonville Today. District spokesperson Laureen Ricks said the design could serve as a prototype adaptable to schools accommodating approximately 840 to 1,200 students. The Venetia proposal itself remains configured for 840 students.

Jacksonville Today reported that the revised design would maintain the current Venetia location while incorporating the planned Ortega consolidation and five voluntary prekindergarten classes. The proposal also retains the expectation that the Venetia name and mascot would remain unchanged. Those details were reported as features of the plan rather than final construction decisions.

The schools' recent performance records provide additional context for the proposed consolidation. Jacksonville Today reported that Venetia received an A grade last year after receiving B grades in the preceding two years. Ortega received a C last year after receiving B grades in the two previous years.

School Board still must make the final construction decision

The Joint Planning Committee's Oct. 30 action moves the Venetia rebuilding proposal forward but does not constitute final School Board approval of construction, according to News4JAX. Jacksonville Today reported that the School Board had approved Ortega Elementary's closure but still needed to approve the new Venetia building at an upcoming meeting. Neither report established a specific date for that final construction decision.

The proposal before the district calls for an 840-student replacement school, five voluntary prekindergarten classes and vehicle accommodation for up to 250 cars and 23 buses, according to Jacksonville Today. News4JAX reported that the Joint Planning Committee additionally recommended a traffic study near Roosevelt Boulevard and Timucuan Road. The district's existing decision to consolidate Ortega Elementary after the 2027-28 school year remains part of the broader facility plan.

The committee's approval leaves the construction decision with the Duval County School Board. The recommended traffic study remains another element of the planning process, with no completion timetable reported. As of the committee's Oct. 30 action, the plan had advanced for further consideration, but final approval to construct the replacement school had not been reported.