Superintendent thankful for public support of 30-year overhaul plan
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Photo courtesy of the Putnam County School District – Officials from the Putnam County School District and the city of Palatka turn over dirt during a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the former E.H. Miller School in Palatka.
School officials and partners broke ground Thursday at the site of what is slated to be one of six new elementary schools in Putnam County.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place at the former E.H. Miller School, 156 Horseman Club Road in Palatka, which closed at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year as part of the Putnam County School District’s 30-year revitalization plan.
Voters approved a $300 million bond referendum last year to fund the demolition of old schools and the construction of six new facilities. While the ceremony took place Thursday, the district began tearing down E.H. Miller a day earlier to celebrate a milestone.
“We actually started demolition yesterday on Nov. 8, which is exactly one year after the bond referendum was passed,” Surrency said Thursday. “It is very gratifying to finally see some action happening. I wanted to thank the citizens of Putnam County for entrusting us with this bond referendum to start building these schools.”
The general obligation bond referendum involves the district receiving $300 million in loans to be paid back with interest over 30 years. The district will pay back the loans through an increase in its tax rate, which occurred Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
When the revitalization plan was first introduced, district leaders said such drastic action was needed because of aging buildings that were plagued with poor roofing, substandard air quality, and technology and electrical issues. Officials also cited a student population that had been steadily declining since the mid-1990s, with some schools not being filled to even 50% capacity.
The plan called for the closure of E.H. Miller, Jenkins Middle School, Miller Middle School, Price Middle School and the C.L. Overturf Jr. Sixth Grade Center, all of which closed in spring 2021. Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Thomas Bolling has previously said Miller Middle in Crescent City was built in 1928 and the other four schools were built between 1946 and 1971.
The district will break ground on a Crescent City site in March, Surrency said after the ceremony, and the Crescent City and Palatka elementary schools will be open to their first crop of students in August 2025.
While no start date has been given for the Crescent City school, Bolling said construction on the Palatka school is slated to begin April 15.
“A lot of construction is going to be happening between now and (August 2025),” Surrency said. “And, of course, the two projects down in Crescent City will be happening also, but this (Palatka site) is the first one. And there will be a number of groundbreakings taking place over the next several years.”
The district is also planning to build three new high schools, one of which is in Crescent City, but they will be paid for using special facilities funding from the state, not the general obligation bonds.
As for the new Palatka school, Surrency is still not sure which children will attend it and the other new school to be built in the city. Studies, zoning and other considerations must be conducted before it is known which students from Kelley Smith, Moseley and James A. Long elementary schools, all of which will close as part of the revitalization plan, will go to which new school, he said.
“A lot of those details are yet to be determined because we have yet to determine where the second school will be built in the second phase (of the revitalization plan),” Surrency said. “Once we build both schools, then both of those new schools that we’re building will house all the (kindergarten through sixth grade) students in the greater Palatka area.”
Now that the first groundbreaking has occurred, Surrency said he and other district officials are looking forward to the five other ceremonies, the construction phase and finally having all six schools open for learning.
He commended district officials and partners who attended forums in community centers and schools throughout the county leading up to the 2022 election. Because they explained the revitalization plan to the public and answered questions people had about such a large undertaking, the referendum was approved allowing the district to do what is best for its students, Surrency said.
The faith the public has in the district is special and won’t go unrewarded, he said.
“I was very gratified that our voters voted to approve this project,” Surrency said. “And I believe people really trust our school district. And when we say we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it even though we may have some obstacles.”
