FLEMING ISLAND – Concerned parents at Paterson Elementary had their fears eased last week when Clay County School District Superintendent Addison Davis said any plan to rezone many students to Fleming Island Elementary won’t happen until at least the 2020-21 school year.

Parents were notified two weeks ago of a potential rezoning in the neighborhoods surrounding Paterson as the school nears capacity. While no official decision was made without a vote of the school board, Davis promise not only seemed to satisfy the more than 150 parents, it led to an applause.

“I want you to hear me say this, and I’m going to say this in front of the board: nothing will happen in the [20]19-20 school year,” Davis said. “Everything will stay as is for next year.”

Promise aside, rezoning eventually will happen. Because of that, Davis explained the options the school district has before rezoning can happen.

Right now, Paterson is at 98.2-percent capacity with 1,083 students at a school built for 1,105 students, with projected growth for another 220 students. Fleming Island is 76.8-percent capacity, with 704 students at the school built for 912. According to Davis, rezoning Patterson students to Fleming Island eventually would be necessary for both schools.

The first option presented during the April 24 meeting called for Pace Island, Oak Creek, Harbor Island and Points North to be rezoned to Fleming Island. Included in that plan were 194 Patterson students going to Fleming Island to bring both schools to their ideal capacities.

Another option was for Magnolia West, Creekside and Black Creek Village to be rezoned to Fleming Island. While many parents asked that the district do that, Davis said that would put Patterson in a tough position.

“This option comes from communication we received from some of our constituents,” Davis said. “If we did that, 319 students would be transitioned [to Fleming Island] and the issue that you would have there is that [Fleming Island] would now be over capacity at 112 percent and you would see that Paterson goes to 69 percent.”

Davis said once a school’s capacity is less than 85 percent, it becomes subject to controlled open-enrollment, which means any student, regardless of which county they live in, can take a seat at one of these schools. The third option pushes Fleming Island past its capacity as well.

At the end of the meeting, Davis asked the parents to vote with their smart phones for one of the options.

Seventy-two percent of parents voted for implementation of the first option that called for 194 students from Paterson being rezoned to Fleming Island – but not before the 2020-21 school year.

The vote by parents wasn’t binding and it will serve as a gauge for Davis. It’s likely rezoning won’t appear before the Clay County School Board until at least next year.

Davis also said if a student is at least in the fourth grade, they will be exempt from the rezoning – or grandfathered in – along with students of military parents and ESE students.