Revised school-zoning plan accepted

Columbia County school board members set the zone for a new elementary school during a meeting Tuesday.

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After two public meetings and numerous e-mail responses, school officials presented a revised zoning that affects Cedar Ridge, Lewiston and Euchee Creek elementary schools, and the new school on Baker Place Road, scheduled to open in August.

An estimated 586 elementary-school-age pupils live in the new zone:

- The area south of Columbia Road from Euchee Creek to High Meadows Drive and an area south of Euchee Creek to William Few Parkway to Chamblin Road. That area includes Ivy Falls, Misty Woods and High Meadows subdivisions.

- The area north of Wrightsboro Road and east of Baker Place Road from Interstate 20 to William Few Parkway, and east on William Few Parkway to Chamblin Road, both sides, at Interstate 20.

- The area north of Wrightsboro Road from Chamblin Road, both sides, to Harlem-Grovetown Road and I-20 at Horizon South Parkway. As initially envisioned, the zoning for that school would have added 54 pupils.

Getting some of those pupils will be Euchee Creek Elementary, which will grow from its current enrollment of about 360 pupils to 443 next year.

Losing hundreds of pupils to Euchee Creek and the new school is Cedar Ridge Elementary, but not as many as before.

Initially, the school's population was expected to drop from 923 to 536. It is now estimated it will have 589 pupils next year.

Unaffected by the revision to the rezoning is Lewiston Elementary. It still is scheduled to lose 431 pupils next year for a total pupil population of 503.

Because the board must have another vote to finalize the zone, which it likely will do at its Dec. 14 meeting, those wishing to comment on the rezoning still can do so by e-mailing zoning@ccboe.net.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, the board set the school calendars through May 2013.

Worried that state lawmakers might develop a statewide school calendar during the next legislative session, Superintendent Charles Nagle asked board members to set the long-term calendar.

The board gave tentative approval to a 2011-12 school calendar last month but gave it final approval on Tuesday. It sets Aug. 8 as the first day of school, with graduation on May 19, 2012.

Board members also examined two options for a 2012-13 calendar.

The calendars feature the same start date of Aug. 7, but the first option sets graduation on May 18, while the other has it on May 25 -- Memorial Day weekend. They also have different start dates for the second semester -- Jan. 3 and Jan. 8.

The board held off on deciding on the 2012-13 calendar until it can be reviewed by school administrators.

To review the proposed rezoning and the calendars, visit the school system's Web site at www.ccboe.net.