- December 16, 2025
The Flagler County School Board approved a revised student relocation policy, for the 2012-2013 school year.
The School Board agreed Tuesday, Aug. 23, to maintain its current school choice/relocation policy, with an option to appeal in hardship cases.
By statute, policies must be submitted to the Florida Department of Education by Sept. 1. All changes agreed upon at the meeting will not go into effect until the 2012-2013 school year.
Currently, relocation requests must go through a selection process. Besides Indian Trails Middle School which, because of excess space, let in every one of the 125 students who applied for relocation last year, schools allow transfers depending on enrollment capacity, with available seats going to eligible students through a lottery system.
The board decided to add one parent to the School Choice Appeals Committee, and add the option for appeals in hardship cases (those in which a student wishes to transfer because of extenuating circumstances). Currently, high-school students are only considered for a transfer if they are separated from a sibling, the school they’re enrolled in doesn’t offer a desired program or they are a senior.
It was also agreed to establish quarterly hearings for midyear transfers.
“At this point, choice is a privilege,” Superintendent Janet Valentine said. “I think we have some flexibility if we leave the plan the way it is now.”
Board member Colleen Conklin agreed, but suggested opening the process to increase competition among schools.
“The reality is, we are in a competitive situation,” she said. “We are competing with charter schools … We have to do a better job of selling our stories, our program … and trying to level the playing field.”
The move would encourage schools to always improve, she said, because they won’t want to see a trend of losing students to a sister school.
“We need to get outside of this box of purely looking at zones and embrace the notion of competition,” she said. “It’s a mindset issue for a whole district to embrace. We’re entering a new era of education, and we have to realize where we are in it.”
Dickinson agreed, but noted that a school like Flagler Palm Coast High is already overpopulated as it is.
The revised policy passed unanimously.
MUSICAL SCHOOLS
According to statistics provided by the Flagler County Schools attendance department, Belle Terre Elementary had the most students transfer into from other facilities last year, with 138.
Buddy Taylor Middle School had the fewest number of transfers, with four students.
Contact Mike Cavaliere at [email protected].
