Some students in the Lake Nona area of Orange County will find themselves at a new school starting next year.
Due to overcrowding in two Orange County Schools — Northlake Park Elementary and Moss Park Elementary — an additional school is being added. It’s already under construction.
The Orange County School Board on Tuesday night unanimously voted to approve the rezoning that would move hundreds of children to the new, yet-to-be-named school, which is located on Narcoossee Road.
"I just accept the decision," said Heather Campion, whose son attends Northlake Park Elementary School. "It's a new school, so it should be fine. We're building a house in Laureate, so we've been zoned out of Northlake. And for me, I was 50-50 because I do love Northlake — it's a great community school — but I wasn't crazy about having to drive and do the car loop."
Some parents told News 13 that, at times, the line of cars to pick up their children after school can be as long as a 45-minute wait, and the addition of the new school could relieve that.
Some of the Lake Nona-area schools already have an overcrowding of more than 100 students. The district said the quality of teaching will not be sacrificed as the quantity of schools increases.
The teaching ratio will be the same at all schools because of a constitutional amendment stating the ratio, depending on school size, will be 1-to-18 and 1-to-22.
The new elementary school is on schedule to open in August for the beginning of the school year. The new school will already be near capacity when it opens because of continuous growth in the area, district officials said.