March 19, 2026, 5:03 a.m. ET
- The school will be renovated and reopen in 2028 as the new location for Inlet Grove High.
- The plan also includes building a new high school in Riviera Beach, a long-desired project for the city.
It’s official: Lincoln Elementary School will close at the end of this school year and will be renovated to reopen in 2028 as the new home of Inlet Grove High.
Lincoln’s closure will be only the second time inmorethan 30 years that the Palm Beach County School District has shuttered a district-operated school.
Palm Beach County School Board members formally approved Lincoln’s closure and a series of sweeping attendance zone changes on March 11. Those changes were based on a recommendation from Superintendent Mike Burke, who had accepted the recommendations of the district’s Advisory Boundary Committee.
Lincoln’s closure is part of a multi-pronged plan to consolidate the school attendance zones of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune and West Riviera elementary schools, move some Bethune students to Washington Elementary, demolish the building that houses Inlet Grove High and build a new high school on that site.
In the near term, the plan means big changes for students at Lincoln, Bethune, West Riviera and Washington elementary schools.
Starting this fall, all of Lincoln’s roughly 380 students will be dispersed to West Riviera or Bethune, depending on their grade level.
West Riviera will serve pre-kindergarten through second grade. Bethune will serve grades three through five.
Bethune students who live north of Blue Heron Boulevard will shift to Washington Elementary.
There are some exceptions to those new attendance zones.
Current fourth-grade students zoned for Bethune would have the option of remaining at Bethune. Also, siblings of those fourth-graders would have the option of moving to Washington, attending West Riviera or remaining at Bethune, depending on their grade level.
Incoming school year 2026-27 kindergarten siblings of these current fourth-grade students will have the option of attending West Riviera/Bethune for the remainder of their elementary school years.
The district notes that current fourth-graders who opt to remain «are not automatically entitled to district transportation.»
«For other students in the change area who are provided the option to attend West Riviera Elementary (PK-2)/ Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary (3-5), transportation is not provided,» the district states. «Based on past history, transportation is not typically provided for any students who opt to remain.»
Lincoln’s closure means relocation for its students, educators and staff.
One school for pre-K through 2nd grade, another for grades 3-5
Lincoln Principal Alicia Taylor said consolidating West Riviera and Bethune attendance zones and splitting the schools up into to pre-K through second grade and third grade through fifth grade will allow for a «more focused and effective learning environment to support the developmental needs of our children.»
Taylor added: «This exciting model allows our schools to tailor their instruction and resources to specific age groups, allowing students to receive campus-wide support for early literacy before moving to the next level. We appreciate the support of our parents and the community as we work to provide a stronger elementary foundation and prepare our children for the future.»
Lincoln, located at 1160 Avenue N in Riviera Beach, opened in 1955 and was rebuilt in 2000. Its students have struggled academically, with the school grading out as either an ‘F,’ ‘D,’ or ‘C’ school from 2009 to last year, when the school improved to a ‘B’ rating.
With roughly 380 students, Lincoln is operating at only 38% capacity, district enrollment figures show. Only K.E. Cunningham/Canal Point Elementary, at 36% capacity, was filling a lower percentage of its seats.
Lincoln’s low enrollment was a factor in the district’s decision to close it, but other factors were at play, too.
Making way for a new high school in Riviera Beach
«The school board evaluated four different options regarding a new Riviera Beach high school during a workshop on March 6, 2024,» a district spokesman said. «The board ultimately favored the plan to move Inlet Grove High School to the Lincoln Elementary campus due to several factors, including Riviera Beach currently maintaining more than enough elementary school capacity. This option also prevents multiple high school populations from having to share a single campus and provides the Inlet Grove High School students with direct access to recreational space at the Dan Calloway-Tate Recreation Complex.»
A new high school in Riviera Beach would cost an estimated $150 million and fulfill a long-held wish by residents of the city for a high school of their own after decades of having their high school students scattered to a trio of other schools. That has been a point of frustration for many years in Riviera Beach, the county’s largest majority-Black municipality and the only one with more than 35,000 residents that does not have its own high school.
The one district-operated high school within the city limits is Suncoast High, one of the most highly regarded in the district, but also one where the seats are filled by lottery from a countywide pool of applicants who must first pass a high academic bar.
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
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