In the Zone

One of the nice things about having older children – one in college and one about to go to college – is that you don’t have to worry when school leaders discuss rezoning.

Still, I have two nieces currently zoned for Cedar Bluff - Rory (left) who is currently a student at Cedar Bluff and her little sister, Marly (right) who will soon be at Cedar Bluff. 

They could potentially be affected by Knox County’s ongoing discussion about the rezoning plan for elementary schools in the western part of the county. And, as a concerned citizen who is paying attention to current events in the community, of course I want the best outcome for the most people possible - especially Rory and Marly.

To summarize, the county is in the process of constructing a new, yet to be named, elementary school near the intersection of Pellissippi Parkway and Northshore. How they draw district lines to populate this new school could ultimately affect students who are currently zoned for:

• West Hills
• Cedar Bluff
• Bluegrass
• A.L. Lotts

Also on the list is Farragut Primary School, where Paul spent so many good years.

Farragut Intermediate School, where Holly got her first taste of the Farragut schools, could also be affected.

School administrators don’t have any easy job on this one.

You can imagine there are lots of moving parts when it comes to redistributing school populations over such a wide geographic area. Further, you just know they are hearing from citizens with competing interests.

“Do this.”
“No, don’t do that, do this instead.”

As I said, this won’t affect us directly but it does remind me of the similar redistricting effort that took place when HVA opened in 2008 (the first new Knox County High School to open in 40 years). That effort did have the potential to affect our family, so we were definitely paying close attention.

The County approached that redistricting with a comprehensive plan that literally affected most high schools to a large or small degree.

Farragut, of course, was most profoundly affected (with enrollment numbers and teacher allocation numbers both decreased). Our neighborhood was never targeted for redistricting but many subdivisions, situated around the perimeter of Farragut, were on the table at one point or the other and the debate became heated at times.

I do hope the discussions at the ongoing public meetings are less emotional.

But when parents have multiple kids in different schools, as is the case with the lady identified in the WBIR clip, you can see where they have lots riding on the outcome. Also at stake are community identities and future school growth plans.

School administrators have to balance all those issues with the more tangible needs of producing manageable classroom totals, providing safe transportation and ensuring the highest quality education for the students in our communities.

It’s no easy task. At the same time, the stakes are incredibly high.

It will be an interesting news story to follow as it unfolds over the next few months.

JG  

(Source: knoxnews.com)

Originally posted 9/25/2012