Proposed zoning changes for SW Marion with two new elementary schools under construction

File photo: Construction of the new elementary school by Ausley Construction is shown at Winding Oaks Farm in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

Zoning changes for students in southwest Marion County have been announced related to the future two opening of two new elementary schools.

Construction began on the two new elementary schools in March, with an anticipated opening in August 2025. The schools, one in Marion Oaks and the other in Winding Oaks, are identical and will each house up to 860 students.

The school district has released its proposed zoning changes to the area that will impact Belleview Elementary, Belleview Santos Elementary, Hammett Bowen Jr. Elementary, Legacy Elementary, Marion Oaks Elementary, Saddlewood Elementary and Sunrise Elementary.

Marion County Public Schools held two community meetings in the second week of September to discuss rezoning information.

Students in certain areas who were formerly zoned for Marion Oaks and Sunrise, who live to the west and the south of both schools, spanning east up until Interstate 75, will be zoned for Elementary School W in the future.

Students in certain areas who were formerly zoned for Hammett Bowen, Saddlewood, Belleview Santos and Marion Oaks will be zoned for Elementary School X in the future. All school zones in this area will be reformatted to accommodate the zoning for both new schools.

A school board work session to discuss the proposed attendance boundaries is scheduled for Oct. 17, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. A public hearing and vote on the proposed attendance boundaries for Elementary W and X is scheduled for November 12 at 5:30 p.m.

The schools will each have 43 classrooms. Both schools will have one two-story building made of concrete block construction and have minimal entry points for enhanced security. The facilities will each be 115,000 square feet.

Both schools are expected to cost $43 million each. The site of Elementary School “X” is 7200 SW 49th Avenue Road, and Elementary School “W” is at 14320 SW 70th Avenue Road in Marion Oaks.

Elementary School W will have 5,600 linear feet of stacking area for student drop-off and pickup. The school parking lot will have 34 visitor spaces, 210 staff and event spaces, and five kitchen staff spaces.

Elementary School X will have 5,100 linear feet of stacking area for student drop-off and pickup. The school parking lot will have 34 visitor spaces, 206 staff and event spaces, and five kitchen staff spaces.

A major new development is in the works near the site of Elementary School X after the Ocala City Council approved the creation of a development district earlier this year of 460 acres of a former farm. Developer Kimley-Horn plans to build nearly 1,700 single-family homes on the land.

As of June, the Ocala/Marion County area is the fourth fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country and the ninth fastest-growing county in the country. With 269 people moving to the area each week, the age demographics of the people moving here are trending younger, which is expected to increase the student population in Marion County greatly, according to Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership President and CEO Kevin Sheilley.