Some Putnam students start new school year in different schools

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Putnam County Schools Revitalization School Plan

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – Putnam County students caput backmost to schoolhouse Tuesday, but immoderate classrooms volition stay empty. Several schools were closed arsenic portion of a semipermanent program to revitalize the district. In all, 5 were closed, 13 opened.

The motion extracurricular Price Middle School successful Interlachen warns “campus closed.”

Across the county, the gathering for Jenkins Middle School, erstwhile location to the Eagles, sits empty. These are ocular signs of the large changes coming to Putnam schools. James Kelly is simply a erstwhile pupil and present lives adjacent doorway to the campus.

“I judge it’s a nonaccomplishment to the community,” Kelly said.

The territory says the closure is portion of a bigger program to heighten the community. It’s a program that volition beryllium breached up into 3 phases that volition past up to 10 years.

Putnam Superintendent, Richard Surrency, says the changes volition pave the mode for newer and amended facilities.

“We person immoderate schools that are built successful the 20s and the 40s,” Surrency said. “The remainder were built successful the 50s and 60s oregon 70s. So, we’re trying to supply the champion facilities successful the state-of-the-art exertion that our students really deserve.”

The territory says Jenkins Middle School students are present going to be Palatka High School. Students who attended the 6th people Overturf halfway volition instrumentality to their simple schools. Miller Middle School is besides present closed-- truthful the 6th graders volition present spell to the simple school. The 7th and 8th graders volition caput to the precocious school. The gathering for Mellon Elementary is present being utilized for children with peculiar needs.

READ: Full program for ‘Revitalize Putnam County School Facilities’

Surrency says implicit the past 10 years, Putnam County schools enrollment has declined. He says portion the territory is anticipating maturation successful enrollment implicit the adjacent fewer years, the determination to basal caller schools rests connected the existent population. The extremity is to physique 9 caller schools, utilizing a operation enslaved issue.

“We volition beryllium floating successful November ‘22,” Surrency said. “That’s a $300,000,000 enslaved contented that we’re going to inquire our voters to approve. We’re besides going to beryllium seeking authorities backing successful the signifier of peculiar facilities, appropriations, which would besides assistance america to physique a caller school.”

Kelly hopes the Jenkins gathering tin inactive beryllium utilized for kids successful the community. Jenkins Middle School besides paid tribute to an American hero. It had been named aft Robert H. Jenkins, Jr.

One different alteration we privation to notation is Jenkins Middle School had been named aft Robert H. Jenkins, Jr. Jenkins was a Medal of Honor victor primitively from Interlachen. In 1969, portion warring successful the Vietnam War, Jenkins and different backstage archetypal class, Fred Ostrom, were warring disconnected the force unneurotic successful a ditch erstwhile a North Vietnamese worker threw a manus grenade astatine them. Jenkins instantly pushed Ostrom to the crushed and jumped connected apical of him to shield him from the blast, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Since Jenkins Middle School is present closed, Interlachen Elementary School is present renamed Robert H. Jenkins, Jr. Elementary School successful his honor. The schoolhouse besides has a caller tagline, which is, “Where heroes are built.” The extremity is to marque definite his bequest is taught forever.

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