Ray recommending large SCS school rezoning plan

Shelby County Schools administrators are recommending a rezoning plan that would affect students in more than a dozen schools across the district.

Students in seats that would be rezoned away from their current school would be allowed to stay at that school if they want, but would have to begin providing their own transportation, if they don’t already.

The rezonings, which the board will vote up or down individually next week, are the first step of a massive plan to shrink the district’s footprint. Former Superintendent Dorsey Hopson proposed the rezonings as part of an overall plan that also included closing 28 schools and building new ones.

Current Superintendent Joris Ray had not taken a position on any portions of Hopson’s plan since taking over the job in January, saying he first wanted to listen to the community’s feedback on the plan.

Rezoning seeks to get students at closest school, even enrollments

After a series of meetings in each neighborhood impacted by the plan, Ray presented his recommendations to the board during a work session Tuesday.

Ray said the goal is to assign students to the school closest to them, and to even out enrollments between schools that are over- and under-enrolled.

“This will allow us to have stronger neighborhood schools and feeder patterns while addressing inequities in programs and access at various schools,” Ray said.

Schools with low enrollment have fewer resources to be able to offer opportunities like advanced placement courses.

Ray is also recommending splitting up Raleigh Egypt High School, which serves grades six through 12, into a high school and a separate middle school.

Another recommendation involves merging Hamilton Elementary and Hamilton Middle into one school serving grades K-8. The elementary school has just 356 students, and the middle school has 228.

Which schools could be rezoned

The following rezoning plans, which would affect a portion of each school, are up for a vote:

❚ Southwind Elementary to Highland Oaks Elementary.

❚ Highland Oaks Elementary Southwind Elementary.

❚ Sheffield Elementary to Getwell Elementary.

❚ Germantown Elementary to Cordova Elementary.

❚ Kate Bond Middle to Mt. Pisgah Middle.

❚ Germantown Middle to Cordova Middle.

❚ Germantown Middle to Highland Oaks Middle.

❚ White Station High to Melrose High.

❚ Germantown High to Southwind High.

The rezonings would take effect this fall, although one board member, Kevin Woods, suggested they vote next week but delay implementation a year, and said he would propose such an amendment before the vote.

“That gives us the opportunity to really message this work, and that it doesn’t happen right away,” he said.

Woods said he thought Ray’s team did a good job of reaching out to parents and explaining why these rezonings are necessary, despite acknowledging “not everyone was pleased” at the community meetings.

“I do see this as a first, courageous step as we start to take on the footprint work,” Woods said.

Students are assigned schools based on where they live, but can enroll in any school — if that school has room — through an open transfer process. However, enrolling in a different school requires students to provide their own transportation, which can be an obstacle for many families. to

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