BOCA RATON, Fla. — A new elementary school is being built at the intersection of Military Trail and Potomac Road in Boca Raton to hopefully fix some overcrowding issues. However, it will require some children to change schools next year and some parents are a bit frustrated.
"A new school sounds wonderful. The principal they chose seems great," said parent Brett Yonon. " It was the boundaries, once they kind of showed it to us, that gave a lot of the folks around here some pause."
On the proposed boundary map, Yonon said St. Andrews Boulevard is the dividing line.
"That includes folks just east of Andrews and just west, and just west kind of straddling that road," he said. "Six of those communities get to stay at Calusa (Elementary School) and two, mine, Millpond and Timber Creek get clawed into the new school. We feel like we're being pulled away from our neighbors."
Thursday night, the School District of Palm Beach County partnered with the city of Boca Raton to hold an informational meeting via webinar for concerned parents to ask questions and air out their concerns.
City Council Member Andy Thomson is one of those parents. He has three kids who attend Calusa Elementary School, which is over capacity.
"We're victims of our own success," he said.
Thomson said to think about the move from a kid's perspective.
"When I told her she was going to have to go to a new school, no problem. She loves the idea," he said. "I told her about the new principal. It sounds great. But when she heard that her friend Aubrey and her friend Charlie were going to have to go and stay at Calusa, not so great after all."
School board Councilmember Alexandria Ayala is surprised by the uproar.
"It's a new school, so you would think that they would all want to go to the new school," she said. "It's a little bit of an interesting situation. It's a testament to how good all their schools are."
Yonon said if things stay the same, his kids are up for a surprise.
"We haven't told the kids yet and they're going to be devastated," he said.
There will be at least one more meeting for community input. A vote will be taken and then the board will pass on their recommendation to the superintendent.
