The St. Johns County School Board voted Tuesday, Oct. 13, to begin land acquisition and architectural planning for a new middle school in Silverleaf.

The board authorized negotiations to purchase property within the master-planned community and approved hiring an architectural firm for schematic design, according to First Coast Observer.

The proposed school would help accommodate residential growth in southwest St. Johns County, where demand for classroom space has increased.

The district has not announced a construction timeline, opening date, project cost or purchase price.

Decision follows district budget cuts

The vote comes two months after the district announced approximately $23 million in budget reductions, postponing several school construction projects and eliminating roughly 130 teaching positions.

Superintendent Brennan Asplen said in August that the district expected to build only one new high school over the following three years.

The latest decision allows preliminary work on a middle school but does not reverse those cuts or authorize construction.

Silverleaf, located along County Road 210 west of Interstate 95, is already home to Magnolia Oaks Academy, a K-8 school that opened in August for the 2026-27 school year with 1,240 students on its first day.

The proposed middle school would be a separate campus.

Next steps for Silverleaf school

District staff will negotiate the property purchase and return to the School Board for further approval.

First Coast Observer reported that developing a new school typically takes three to four years from land acquisition to opening. The district has not established a schedule for the Silverleaf project.

Residents can track updates through St. Johns County School Board meetings and the district's new school construction page.