To inform families about school closure and openings, Columbia County’s Board of Education is holding various meetings to gather public input on the student rezoning.
With continual progress being made on Westmont Elementary’s construction and the county making headway on North Columbia Elementary School’s foundational work, the Board of Education recently announced the future decommissioning of South Columbia Elementary.
To prepare for South Columbia’s school closure following the county’s 10-year building plan, the school district is proposing a rezoning plan that will force more than 650 elementary school students to change schools next year.
Schools affected by the suggested student relocation proposal will include: Brookwood Elementary, Blue Ridge Elementary, Evans Elementary, Lewiston Elementary and Martinez Elementary.
Additional affected facilities will include middle and high schools in Evans, Greenbrier, Grovetown and Harlem.
Criteria taken into account while rezoning students will involve analyzing: program enrollment, attempting to minimize disrupting students, neighborhood development, transportation efficiency and maximizing the instructional capacity of all school buildings.
Regular traffic flow will also shift on many streets and within neighborhoods located in the affected areas. For a full list of affected locations, view the school district’s recent informational presentation at https://www.ccboe.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=3154820&type=d&pREC_ID=1439667
Once the proposal is officially approved, all impacted schools will schedule informational sessions for parents, students and staff about the transition.
Current ninth to 11th grade high schoolers will have the option to opt out of relocation by providing their own transportation in order to remain at their current school. If a student decides to remain at the same school and avoid rezoning, he or she will have to resubmit a waiver provided by the school for athletic eligibility purposes in order to prevent students from traveling often between different zoned schools.
According to the Board Education’s latest presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 24, regarding rezoning, areas within the school district are subject to change based on school enrollment, assignments and a program’s specific needs.
Future meetings will take place throughout the month of November, including:
- Tuesday, Nov. 7, at Martinez Elementary, located at 213 Flowing Wells Road, at 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 9, at North Columbia Elementary, located at 2784 Ray Owens Road, at 6 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the Columbia County Board of Education building, located at 4781 Hereford Farm Road, during the school district’s monthly regular session at 5:30 p.m.
Presentations will also be made available online following each meeting, and public comments will be collected during meetings or can be submitted electronically by sending them to contactus@ccboe.net
For more information, visit the Columbia County School District’s website: https://www.ccboe.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=3154820&type=d&pREC_ID=1439667
