PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Hundreds of Palm Beach County elementary students will be moved to a new campus this fall following the school board’s official approval of attendance zone maps.
“We’re really excited to open it in August,” Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Michael Burke said. “It’s going to be a beautiful facility."
The new school, Saddle View Elementary,lies west of Arden about 5 miles from Binks Forest Elementary in Wellington.
Burke said Saddle View will have more than 600 students when it opens this August.
WATCH: How parents feel about the addition of another elementary school in the Arden area
It’s a move parents like Caitlin Wiggins are looking forward to.
“I feel very blessed that we’re starting fresh and we have all these great opportunities coming our way,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins recently moved to Arden and said she is thrilled to be a part of growing community.
“We’re very excited to not have to drive to school every day and possibly just take the golf cart and have the kids ride their bikes to school," Wiggins said. "It’s going to be very exciting to be so close."
Some neighbors near Arden have expressed their traffic concerns. Meanwhile, Burke adds the new school will help ease overcrowding at Binks Forest Elementary.
“This is a complete solution," Burke said. "It’s going to be overnight with opening this new school in August."
Current fourth graders at Binks Forest Elementary with younger siblings at the school can stay on the campus. Those siblings can also stay at Binks Forest until they complete elementary school.
“We’ve done that historically with boundary changes so they can remain at their school and go ahead and finish out the last few years before they move on to middle school,” Burke said.
School district officials said Saddle View is one of three new schools coming to the western part of the county, in the next five years.
