Zoning

The primary purpose for the current relocation proposal is to:

1. Reduce and balance enrollment; Especially over the next two years because of two new larger elementary schools being built (WES, NCE) and the decommissioning of South Columbia Elementary School; This allows us to be good stewards of taxpayer money and maximize instructional capacity in our schools.
2. Keep our feeder patterns as consistent as possible;
3. Minimize the number of portable classrooms.

If you remember, the old Westmont building was built in 1972, the existing North Columbia was built in 1956, and South Columbia was built in 1968. Maintaining the infrastructure of this school has been challenging and costly. The most recent good example of a successful decommissioning of a school was with Belair Elementary School.

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The criteria taken into consideration during the development of the proposed relocation include:

1. Consideration of the current enrollment (using the second 20-day FTE count and McKibben Projected Enrollment Forecast. Collaboration with McKibben Research helped to predict student enrollment over the next 10 years).
2. A review of the enrollment history and projected enrollment for each school affected.
3. The physical location of the school building.
4. Neighborhood development and population.
5. Transportation efficiency and safety.
6. Attempting to minimize disrupting students.
7. Maximize the instructional capacity of all of our school buildings.
8. Program enrollment and location across the district.

The decommissioning of South Columbia Elementary and the opening of the new Westmont Elementary which is located on the same site as it previously occupied will impact the following schools:

• Blue Ridge, Brookwood, Evans Elementary, Lewiston, and Martinez Elementary

Two schools, Evans Elementary and Martinez Elementary are impacted by both the decommissioning of South Columbia Elementary and opening of Westmont Elementary.

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In slides 6 and 7, you will see areas being added or relocated from the current South Columbia zone to Blue Ridge Elementary:

The area proposed to be relocated from South Columbia to Blue Ridge is shaded in black, and includes the following:

• Petersburg Station, Magnolia Trace, El Cordero, Phillips Estates, Village at Riverwatch, and Old Petersburg Plantation
• Addresses north of River Watch Pkwy between Stage Coach Way and Baston Rd.

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This is a picture of the new proposed BRE zone with the addition of South Columbia in red.

 

Slide 9 - Review the areas being moved back to Westmont Elementary from Evans Elementary. The students at the locations listed below were moved temporarily two years ago during the building process:

• Students living on Hillcrest Drive, Oak Ridge Road, Misty Cove Court, and in Wymberly.
• North Belair Road Area-- Students living in the neighborhoods accessed by Samarya Lane, Minnow Lane, Glenora Drive, Pinewood Drive, Hickory Drive, and Pineland Drive.

Slide 10 - This area is shaded in red. 

• Students living on Hillcrest Drive, Oak Ridge Road, Misty Cove Court, and in Wymberly
• North Belair Road Area-- Students living in the neighborhoods accessed by Samarya Lane, Minnow Lane, Glenora Drive, Pinewood Drive, Hickory Drive, and Pineland Drive.

 

 

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Slides 11 and 12 depict the new areas that are being added or relocated from Evans Elementary to Westmont Elementary, and include the following:

• Emerson and Pendleton Place at Crawford Creek
• Roads within Crawford Creek connected to and including Sinclair Drive, Lillian Park Drive, and Wayne Drive
• Glennwood and Evanston neighborhoods
• Addresses on the east side of North Belair between Owens Road and Pineland Drive
• Edwards Drive and Morningside Drive

 

 
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Slides 13 and 14 above, depict the areas being added or relocated from the current South Columbia zone to Evans Elementary, and include the following:

• Addresses and roads off of Rountree Way
• Addresses and roads off of River Watch Parkway between Washington Road and Columbia Industrial Blvd. (Near Pizza Joint and Lowes Area)
• Addresses south of River Watch Parkway between Columbia Industrial Blvd and Old Evans Road (Connor Place and Lakeside on River Watch).

Slide 15 - Depicts the new proposed Evans Elementary zone with the addition of South Columbia in pink and the relocation of some students to Westmont Elementary in green.

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Slides 16 and 17 outline the areas being removed from the current Martinez Elementary zone back to Westmont Elementary. This area is represented in dark blue and includes:

• Students living on Dewey Drive, Highview Drive, Pecan Drive, South Belair Road between Oakley Pirkle Road and Columbia Road.
• Students living east of South Belair Road.

 

 

 

 
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Slides 18 and 19 depict the new areas being removed from Martinez Elementary to Westmont Elementary. This area is shaded in black and includes the following:

• Hickory Grove, Shadowmoor, Sedgefield, Moss Creek, Ashton Woods, and West Lynne Neighborhoods off of Columbia Road.
• Addresses and roads south of Owens Rd from Marty Dr to Washington Rd.
• Belmont Apartments
• Addresses on the east side of North Belair between Columbia Road and Pineland Drive

 

 

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Slides 20 and 21 depict the new areas being added to Martinez Elementary from South Columbia Elementary. 

This area is shaded in black and includes the following:

• All addresses and connecting neighborhoods off of Old Evans Road.
• All neighborhoods and addresses south of River Watch Parkway from Blue Ridge Drive to Baston Road and north or Washington Road from Hightower Drive to Baston Road.

 

 

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This is a picture of the new Martinez Elementary zone. The green area is proposed to go to Westmont Elementary. The crimson area is proposed to go to Martinez Elementary, relocated from South Columbia Elementary.  

 

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Slides 23 and 24 depict the areas being relocated from the current Brookwood Elementary zone back to Westmont Elementary as well as the new areas being relocated to Westmont Elementary from Brookwood Elementary. 

 The previous area is represented in light blue and includes the following:

• Red Oak Farm, Oakley Plantation, and Oak Lake West neighborhoods accessed by Meadowlake Drive, Oak Lake Drive, Cavalier Drive, Westmont Drive, Plantation Road, and Colonial Drive.
• South Belair Road south of Oakley Pirkle Road
• Area between Crawford Creek Place and South Belair Road on Oakley Pirkle Road

 

 

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The new area is shaded in black and includes the following:

• In the area of S. Old Belair Road to include Cutter Mill Road, Perry Mill Circle, Mill Pond Court, Amelia Drive, Brookgreen Road, Millhollow Lane, Millbrook Road, Millhaven Road Addresses West of 4633 Millhaven Road

 

 

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This is a picture of the new Brookwood zone. The green area is proposed to go to Westmont Elementary.

 

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Slides 27 and 28 depict the areas being relocated from the current Lewiston Elementary zone back to Westmont Elementary as well as the new areas being relocated to Westmont Elementary from Lewiston Elementary. The previous area is represented in green and includes the following:

• Orchard Hill, Kensington, Maple Creek, Brookwood, Baldwin Place, and The Hamptons.
• Students living on Fall Creek Lane, Crawford Creek Place, South Old Belair between Columbia Road and Mural Lake Court, and Oakley Pirkle Road between South Old Belair and Crawford Creek Place.

 

 

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The new area is shaded in black and includes the following:

• Addresses on N Old Belair Road between Columbia Rd and Longmeadow Dr.

• Faithful Way and Orchard Place

 

 

Slide 30 - This is a picture of the new Lewiston zone. The green area is proposed to go to Westmont Elementary.

 

Slide 31 - This is a picture of the new Westmont zone with the light pink areas being the additions from Brookwood Elementary, Evans Elementary, Lewiston Elementary, and Martinez Elementary.

 

Slide 32 - The chart above depicts a baseline in which to refer to since classroom size and use may vary.

1. Instructional capacity is defined at the FTE enrollment number provided by the Facilities Services Unit of the Georgia Department of Education.
2. Current enrollment is based on the students enrolled in the school during the second 20-day count done in October 2023.
3. Projected student enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year is based on 10-year projection studies and previous enrollment data. For Brookwood Elementary, Evans Elementary, Lewiston Elementary, and Martinez Elementary, the projection was with Westmont Elementary students who are there now already out.
4. Projected total enrollment after rezoning indicates the approximate number of students that will be in the school after the proposed rezoning takes place.
5. The Net Transfer Number represents the estimated number of students being added or relocated from each school.

 

Slide 33 - Next, is the proposal for the next two years, for middle and high schools. 

 

 

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Slides 34 and 35 depict the Grovetown area, which continues to experience growth. Grovetown High School has been the largest high school for over five years and this proposal seeks to relieve growth over the next few years. Schools that will be impacted include the following:

• Evans and Grovetown Middle and Evans High Schools. Also, in an effort to maximize transportation route times, we are proposing a slight adjustment to Harlem High and Harlem Middle.

 

 

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Slides 34, 35 and 36 depict the new areas being relocated from the current Grovetown Middle and Grovetown High zones to Evans Middle and Evans High zones. This area attends Brookwood Elementary School.

This area is shaded in black and includes the following:

• South of I-20 and east of Old Wheeler Road.
• This includes any connecting roads to Old Wheeler Rd.
• Includes any address or connecting roads east of Old Wheeler Road on Wrightsboro Rd.
• Any connecting roads or neighborhoods off of Powell Rd.

 

 

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Slides 37-40, depict the new proposed zones for Grovetown Middle, Evans Middle, Evans High, and Grovetown High Schools.

Grovetown Middle will be without the area shaded in green.

Evans Middle and Evans High will pick-up the area shaded in red.

Grovetown High will lose the two areas shaded in green.

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Slides 41-43 depict the area that we are recommending an adjustment to for the Harlem Middle and Harlem High zones. Although there are not a lot of students in this area, it does cause longer bus rides for the students in this area because of the distance from Harlem Middle and Harlem High Schools.

This area is shaded in red and includes the following:

• Hwy 221 from Pollard’s Corner, across the dam, to the county line including Burns and Linder McCurdy Road.

 

 

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Slides 45 and 46 depict a baseline in which to refer to since classroom size and use may vary.

1. Instructional capacity is defined at the FTE enrollment number provided by the Facilities Services Unit of the Georgia Department of Education.
2. Current enrollment is based on the students enrolled in the school during the second 20-day count done in October 2023.
3. Projected student enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year is based on 10-year projection studies and previous enrollment data.
4. Projected total enrollment after rezoning indicates the approximate number of students that will be in the school after the proposed rezoning takes place.
5. The Net Transfer Number represents the estimated number of students being added or relocated from each school.

 

 

Slide 46 - As we prepare for the opening of the new North Columbia Elementary School, the following is the proposed 2025-2026 proposal which includes the following schools: Euchee Creek Elementary and North Harlem Elementary.

 

 

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Slides 47-50 depict the new areas being removed from Euchee Creek Elementary to North Columbia Elementary. This area is shaded in black and includes the following:

• Louisville Rd between I-20 and Columbia Rd and any connecting roads or neighborhoods in that area.
• Columbia Road addresses between Louisville Road and High Meadows Drive and any connecting roads in that area.

This slide shows you the new Euchee Creek Elementary zone with the area in green being relocated to North Columbia Elementary.

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Slides 51-54 depict the area being relocated from North Harlem Elementary to North Columbia Elementary. This area is shaded in black and includes the following:

• South of I-20 to Harlem High School and west of Highway 221 following Clary Cut Road as the boundary. This includes the Green Point Area.

 * You can see the new North Harlem zone with the area shaded in green being relocated to North Columbia Elementary. Keep in mind that this includes the Green Point area which is just starting to grow.

Slide 55 - The chart above, shows a baseline in which to refer to since classroom size and use may vary.

1. Instructional capacity is defined at the FTE enrollment number provided by the Facilities Services Unit of the Georgia Department of Education.
2. Current enrollment is based on the students enrolled in the school during the second 20-day count done in October 2023.
3. Projected student enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is based on 10-year projection studies and previous enrollment data.
4. Projected total enrollment after rezoning indicates the approximate number of students that will be in the school after the proposed rezoning takes place.
5. The Net Transfer Number represents the estimated number of students being added or relocated from each school.

 

 

Slide 56 - Large maps of these areas will be available at the public meetings held at Martinez Elementary on Nov. 7, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. and on November 9, 2023, at North Columbia Elementary at 6:00 p.m.  

 

 

Slide 57 - Once the proposal is approved, all schools impacted will provide information about the changes, and informational meetings will be held for students, parents, and staff to help in the transition. Current high school students in 9-11th grades may opt to provide their own transportation and remain at their current school. For this current proposal, this impacts Evans High and Harlem High students. If a student opts to stay at their current high school, the student will have to sign a waiver provided by the school for athletic eligibility purposes and submit the waiver by a certain date to be determined later. Otherwise, the student could be ineligible for athletics. This keeps a student from going back and forth between zones.

 

 

Slide 58 - All areas within our school district are subject to change based on school enrollment and growth. There are numerous neighborhoods being built and we will closely monitor these areas. 

 

 

Slide 59 - We value community input and feedback. During the scheduled public meetings at Martinez Elementary and North Columbia Elementary, there will be suggestion cards for comments. Also, stakeholders may provide input by emailing [email protected]. We read and share every comment or suggestion with the Board of Education as well as answer the questions as soon as possible. District personnel as well as administrators will be available during the public meeting as well.