‘Project Tango’ data center faces Palm Beach school board pushback over proximity to elementary
By Natalie La Roche Pietri
June 10, 2026 at 6:00 AM EDT
The Palm Beach County School District, like local residents and others, are wary of the impact of a proposed 200-acre hyperscale data-center complex, specifically on the elementary school neighboring the planned site for construction.
Known as "Project Tango," the $2.6 billion dollar AI data center would be built in western Palm Beach County in Loxahatchee and cover nearly 200 acres of land, plus include 4 million square feet of buildings. It was originally approved a decade ago as a regular data-center — and not an artificial intelligence facility. The land is owned by Palm Beach Aggregates Holdings, a company involved in rock mining and other agricultural dealings.
Data centers like this one are the core of AI systems and require immense power to feed a network that absorb indispensable resources for communities, notably needing an enormous water supply, experts say. As plans for centers crop up nationwide, people in the affected communities have protested about the financial and environment impact.
At its meeting last week, the School Board of Palm Beach County voted to write a letter to county commissioners requesting them to pause the center from moving forward until they conduct a comprehensive review of how it could affect students and staff.
Saddle View Elementary, in Loxahatchee, is walking distance from the proposed site for Project Tango — they're separated only by a canal. It is also within miles of other schools and surrounded by neighborhoods Loxahatchee, Wellington, Westlake, and Royal Palm Beach, affecting thousands of locals.
READ MORE: Project Tango delay: Both sides gear up toward July showdown
Board member Marcia Andrews, who represents District 6, which includes Saddle View, opposes the center, saying its proximity to the school is a "disgrace."
"It is no good for children. It is no good for the community," she said at last week's meeting. "Maybe we don't have all the information now, but we just know that the noise, the fans, the electricity… the water supply, all of the things will impact that community."
In December, after hours of heated comments from more than 50 residents, county commissioners unanimously postponed the proposed 200-acre Project Tango AI data center near Loxahatchee and Wellington in the western part of Palm Beach County.<br/> (1356x1202, AR: 1.1281198003327788)
Other School Board members say they need more information around potential sound pollution, environmental impacts and health concerns for the school's population.
"We're not saying don't build it. What we're saying is that it shouldn't be so close to the school until we have more information about what the unintended consequences are," said board chair Karen Brill. " We don't have control over what the county commission does, but if we do have concerns about the health of our students and the health of our community, I believe it's incumbent upon us to express those concerns.
Member Virginia Savietto warned against taking an official position against the center.
" It'd be very ignorant of any of us to write something that you do not understand," she told Brill, adding the zoning of the center doesn't yet need to alarm the district.
Directors of the teachers’ union, the Classroom Teachers Association, oppose the center going up near schools and have urged officials to establish "buffer distances between industrial-scale data centers and schools, parks, and residential areas."
"We know we don't want any AI centers close to any of our schools, not just Saddle View," Andrews said.
After months of delaying the center's passing or striking down, the commissioners are expected to vote on the matter on July 15.
Known as "Project Tango," the $2.6 billion dollar AI data center would be built in western Palm Beach County in Loxahatchee and cover nearly 200 acres of land, plus include 4 million square feet of buildings. It was originally approved a decade ago as a regular data-center — and not an artificial intelligence facility. The land is owned by Palm Beach Aggregates Holdings, a company involved in rock mining and other agricultural dealings.
Data centers like this one are the core of AI systems and require immense power to feed a network that absorb indispensable resources for communities, notably needing an enormous water supply, experts say. As plans for centers crop up nationwide, people in the affected communities have protested about the financial and environment impact.
At its meeting last week, the School Board of Palm Beach County voted to write a letter to county commissioners requesting them to pause the center from moving forward until they conduct a comprehensive review of how it could affect students and staff.
Saddle View Elementary, in Loxahatchee, is walking distance from the proposed site for Project Tango — they're separated only by a canal. It is also within miles of other schools and surrounded by neighborhoods Loxahatchee, Wellington, Westlake, and Royal Palm Beach, affecting thousands of locals.
READ MORE: Project Tango delay: Both sides gear up toward July showdown
Board member Marcia Andrews, who represents District 6, which includes Saddle View, opposes the center, saying its proximity to the school is a "disgrace."
"It is no good for children. It is no good for the community," she said at last week's meeting. "Maybe we don't have all the information now, but we just know that the noise, the fans, the electricity… the water supply, all of the things will impact that community."
In December, after hours of heated comments from more than 50 residents, county commissioners unanimously postponed the proposed 200-acre Project Tango AI data center near Loxahatchee and Wellington in the western part of Palm Beach County.<br/> (1356x1202, AR: 1.1281198003327788)
Other School Board members say they need more information around potential sound pollution, environmental impacts and health concerns for the school's population.
"We're not saying don't build it. What we're saying is that it shouldn't be so close to the school until we have more information about what the unintended consequences are," said board chair Karen Brill. " We don't have control over what the county commission does, but if we do have concerns about the health of our students and the health of our community, I believe it's incumbent upon us to express those concerns.
Member Virginia Savietto warned against taking an official position against the center.
" It'd be very ignorant of any of us to write something that you do not understand," she told Brill, adding the zoning of the center doesn't yet need to alarm the district.
Directors of the teachers’ union, the Classroom Teachers Association, oppose the center going up near schools and have urged officials to establish "buffer distances between industrial-scale data centers and schools, parks, and residential areas."
"We know we don't want any AI centers close to any of our schools, not just Saddle View," Andrews said.
After months of delaying the center's passing or striking down, the commissioners are expected to vote on the matter on July 15.