Fayette County Board of Education begins work on new school boundaries
The board did not take any action. There also is no timeline for making a final decision on the proposed new boundaries, which came from a year’s worth of work from a rezoning committee. The boundaries are necessary to reduce chronic overcrowding and to accommodate two new elementary schools and a new high school that are scheduled to be built over the next two years.
Below is the letter the school district sent out from Board Chairman John Price:
Dear FCPS Families,
In our first opportunity to discuss the proposed changes to school attendance boundaries, your Fayette County Board of Education team talked about maps, implementation timing, and the possibility of allowing students to attend the schools they will be rezoned to early.
No action was taken.
The board asked for more information related to concerns they’ve heard from the community, including feeder patterns and specific areas such as Hunting Hills, Squire Oak, Seven Parks, Clemens Heights, Plantation, Copperfield, and Olde Bridge. They also asked staff to develop draft guidelines that would allow some students to possibly enroll in the fall of 2015 in the schools they are zoned for in 2016.
Portions of the board’s discussion centered on overcrowding, capacity and projected growth in high school enrollment and the need to allow for enrollment increases from new housing construction in the attendance areas of the new high school and Bryan Station High School. Other topics included when to implement the new boundaries, phasing out the student continuation plan and grandfathering in the Spanish Immersion program.
No timeline was set for making a final decision, but the board agreed to several dates for upcoming work sessions on topics including the budget, student code of conduct and rezoning. Meetings will be held on May 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 20 at a time to be determined, May 22 from 1 to 3 p.m., and May 23 from 7 to 9 a.m. Agendas for each meeting have not yet been determined. On Monday, May 11, from 3 to 5 p.m., the board will hold a work session to discuss the budget for 2015-16. The board also decided to move its planning meeting from June 8 to June 3, in anticipation of possibly interviewing superintendent candidates.
The next meeting of the board, set for 7 to 9 a.m. May 9, will be primarily devoted to the superintendent search, but we may discuss rezoning if time allows.
Sincerely,
John Price
Fayette County Board of Education Chair
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