SCCPSS Board to vote on latest version of Long-Range Facilities Plan at Jan. 10 meeting
Western Chatham County school attendance zones must evolve.
Every iteration of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System’s (SCCPSS) Long-Range Facilities Plan has reinforced that message including the latest, which was posted on Jan. 5 ahead of this Wednesday’s school board meetings.
Facilities plan has caused unrest but rezoning is necessary
After Superintendent Denise Watts, Ed.D., shared the initial plan in November, SCCPSS officials held stakeholder meetings with the affected school communities to explain the data and logic behind the proposed changes. Dissatisfaction with the plan among the Carrie E. Gould Elementary and New Hampstead K8 and high school communities was expressed at stakeholder meetings and the December board meeting.
SCCPSS board members decided not to vote on the plan at that time. Watts then shared revised plan options with District 7 stakeholders at a Dec. 12 Town Hall. During the town hall, Watts acknowledged the individual challenges that rezoning might present to families across the district, but reiterated the main factors that necessitated SCCPSS take action. The latest version of the plan spells out those factors, which include:
School capacity levels have some schools overutilized while others are underutilized
Facility conditions require updating or closing some buildings
Bus route optimization to lessen student travel times
Savannah-area population growth, especially in the burgeoning parts of western Chatham County
English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Resource Efficiency
Current plan provides considerable changes from original
Watts and other SCCPSS officials stated throughout November and December that they wanted community feedback. They also indicated that feedback would be taken into consideration. Changes have been made to the initial plan as a result of that feedback and they include:
Shifting the former Groves-Mercer-Gould multi-site from K-12 to 6-12
Provide grandfathering options and eligibility for Identified Rezoned Students who may wish to remain in their current school
Adjusting New Hampstead K8 School attendance boundary with aim to limit multi-year moves where possible
The shifting of the multi-site complex away from K-12, undoes nearly more than five years of planning for it to be a K-12 complex. The current plan calls for rezoning more New Hampstead High School students to the complex than previously recommended. As was expressed at the Dec. 12 Town Hall by Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Bernadette Ball-Oliver, the movement of larger student population from New Hampstead High School would allow for “greater student acclamation and socialization for those students that are moving as approved.”
The plan also includes clarification on athletic eligibility concerns that families had expressed at past school board and town hall meetings. The plan states, “A high school student who is grandfathered under this option and elects to remain at the current school of attendance will retain athletic eligibility at that school if they do not withdraw for any period of time,” a policy founded in Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Bylaw 1.69(b).
The New Hampstead K8 boundary setting comes after some families conveyed frustration with another round of rezoning. Over the past few years, some students who attended Godley Station Elementary School were rezoned for New Hampstead K8, and may now be required to shift once more due to the new facilities plan. With the ongoing population growth and past assertions from SCCPSS leaders that more schools will be needed in western Chatham County, future rezoning moves could be possible.
Board to vote on plan, decision could affect School Choice Programs
The latest version of the facilities plan will be presented during the board’s upcoming Informal Session. The meeting agenda for the board’s Regular Meeting includes item 9.04, which implies a board action will be taken regarding the plan. SCCPSS Board President Roger Moss said that the intention is for the board to hold a vote on whether to move forward with the plan or not.
An SCCPSS representative stated last week that the plan would need to be approved before School Choice Programs can be fully finalized for the 2024-25 school year. For example, the facilities plan has called for ceasing operations at Largo-Tibet Elementary School (430 Tibet Ave.) after the 2023-24 academic year and repurposing the building as a swing site. Largo-Tibet currently remains as a choice school option on SCCPSS’s 2024-25 School Choice Program Information Guide.
January is a pivotal month for families deciding on school options for their students. Saturday, Jan. 27 marks the opening of applications for SCCPSS Choice Programs. Also on that date, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. the SCCPSS 15th Annual Student Success Expo will take place at the Savannah Civic Center. Students and families will be able to review choice school options and meet with school representatives in-person.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning news. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: SCCPSS Board to vote on latest version of Long-Range Facilities Plan
