Alachua County Public Schools responds to Newberry letter threatening to delay Oak View expansion

NEWBERRY, Fla. (WCJB) - Alachua County Public School leaders are pushing back on demands from the City of Newberry that threaten to delay the expansion of a public school over new portables. It comes as Newberry Community School, a public-to-charter conversion supported by city leaders, prepares to open this fall.

Newberry Mayor Tim Marden sent a letter to the Alachua County School Board demanding a traffic study and additional documentation about the expansion of portable classrooms at Oak View Middle School. The letter threatens to withhold city approval in time for the Fall 2026 semester if the requests are not met.

The school district has begun using portables to expand Oak View Middle School into a pre-K through 8th-grade school. The expansion is the result of the closure of schools across the district and the conversion of the former Newberry Elementary School, a public school, into a charter school, which will open in Fall 2026.

Alachua County School Superintendent Kamela Patton penned a response to Marden on Friday. In her letter, she argues that state law doesn’t require the district to get permission from local governments when adding portable classrooms to existing school campuses.

The superintendent also argues that a full traffic impact study will not be necessary due to the project’s minimal impact of adding portables to the existing schools.

The school district expects to accommodate 200 students in the portable classrooms; however, due to state standards, the facilities could accommodate more than 400, if necessary.

The district is paying a field service technician from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office to facilitate safe traffic flow.

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