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Vote on new school lines could be Nov. 13Tue, 11/07/2006 - 4:16pm
By: John Thompson
After being inundated with facts and figures from school administrators, the Fayette County Board of Education could vote on new attendance lines for middle and high schools as early as Nov. 13. The board asked staff to submit a revised proposal to them by the end of this week. During a three-and-a-half-hour meeting, it appears the only significant change may be leaving the Lakeside and Lakemont subdivisions in the Whitewater High School attendance zones, and possibly not dealing with high school zones until 2008. Board chairman Terri Smith wondered what the repercussions would be if the high school zones were left alone until the board figured out if it wanted to build a new school or add on to the existing high schools. “I think you’d see a number of trailers at Whitewater,” said Assistant Superintendent of Operations Sam Sweat. But in earlier discussions, trailers are already predicted for Whitewater next year, so Smith was not sure the situation would be detrimental. Currently, the school has 14 “floating” teachers who share classrooms, so portable units will show up on the campus during the next school year. The bigger issue concerns populating Bennett’s Mill Middle School for opening day in August. During a PowerPoint presentation, school officials told of the dire implications of having overcrowded classrooms. The biggest impact could hit the school system’s pocketbook. Earlier in the meeting, the board asked for a waiver from the state for 38 classes that are over the state-mandated class size. Booth Middle has 19 classes on the list, while Whitewater Middle has 10 classes. If the waiver is not granted by the state, the system stands to lose nearly $600,000 in funding just for those two schools. Another factor driving the opening of new schools is the county’s growth rate. But consultant Jerry Whittaker said the planned development of the River’s property with 1,800 homes in the county’s mid-section may not come to fruition. “It’s my understanding the contract has been terminated,” he said. Board member Janet Smola wondered whether rising eighth graders could be allowed to finish at their current middle school, but the staff said that would not provide many eighth graders for the new school. Later in the evening, Smola became exasperated and wondered if the process wasn’t being rushed. “It’s like we’re building a school and then trying to find students to put in it,” she said. Board member Marion Key was upset with how the feeder pattern was being changed and wondered why nine elementary schools were feeding into Bennett’s Mill. Sweat said he believed the computer program that helped calculate the boundaries took into account special permission students at school, and said the true feeder pattern would be four elementary schools. “How many special permission students are at Whitewater High School?” questioned Smola. School officials said there were currently 184, with 70 of the students being employees’ children. Another issue discussed was having all of Crabapple Elementary feed into Bennett’s Mill. If the board chose to do that, it would encompass areas such as Ardenlee and require another public hearing. “Time is of the essence here. We’ve got to hire a principal and start doing all the things that make a school a school,” Sweat said. The board is expected to receive a revised proposal Friday. If the board places the boundary decision on Monday’s agenda, a copy of the agenda will be posted on The Citizen’s Web site this weekend. login to post comments
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