The black borders are existing zones, the color blocks are proposed zones for WCS high schools

To see slightly larger maps, click here

Updated and corrected 10 p.m. Thursday
By SUSAN LEATHERS
Brentwood Home Page
About 15 percent of Williamson County School population will be impacted in some fashion if the school zones presented to the Board of Education Thursday night at its work session are passed as drawn.

In the Brentwood area, most of the elementary schools would experience at least some boundary changes as would the middle schools, with most having split feeder patterns. Woodland and Sunset are the only Brentwood-area middle schools that would have split feeder patterns.

The new plan for Ravenwood High School is similar to the one proposed last November, with students in the Cool Springs area who live along the Carothers Parkway corridor and the Carronbridge and Ashton Park subdivisions being rezoned to Centennial High School. Students in the southeast portion of RHS’ current zone would go to Page.

A new northeast high school, which would incorporate the current Sunset Middle School zone, is much needed and hopefully will be built within the next few years, superintendent Dr. Mike Looney told the board.

Brentwood High’s current zone would have only one minor revision. About 25 students who live near the far southwestern border north of Berry’s Chapel Road would be rezoned to attend Franklin High.

Parents can access the plan at www.wcs.edu to see their proposed zoned school, maps and information. You can put in your address for specific information.

Edulog, the company contracted to study the district’s enrollment and projected growth and to make the recommendations, based the new zones on three criteria, spokesman Joe O’Dell told the board and the audience of about 50 citizens who attended the meeting held at the county’s Support Services Facility in Franklin.

They included: Border optimization; school capacity and a clear feeder system. No demographic variables were considered when making its proposal.

“One of the things we always look at is moving as few students as possible,” O’Dell said. He added, however, that with growth, “it’s impossible to stay stagnant.”

Woodland Middle School is the only WCS middle school to feed into two high schools. Looney said 189 WMS students would be rezoned to attend Centennial. The rest would feed into Ravenwood.

In the Nolensville area, 239 students who live in the Bent Creek subdivision would be rezoned to the new Breezeway Elementary, and then would attend Ravenwood.

Several minutes were spent discussing grandfathering of students currently attending area schools and transfers by students to take advantage of specific programs not offered at their home high school.

Looney stressed that the district “must make sure those students are going for legitimate reasons.”

On Monday, Sept. 20, the plan will once again be presented to the Board of Education by an Edulog representative. That meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Administrative Complex and will be broadcast live on WC-TV which includes Comcast 3, Charter 96 and ATT 99. It will be replayed the next day as well.

Three public meetings will be held where parents will hear a formal presentation by an Edulog representative and then visit the school’s computer lab to check their child’s proposed zone. Formal presentations will be held at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the school auditorium/multi-purpose rooms. School Board and staff members will be available between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the school cafeterias and computer labs.

Staff members will be available to assist parents in finding their child’s proposed zoned school in the computer lab. The school sites were selected based on facility availability.

The community meetings will be held as follows:

• Tuesday, Sept. 21, Franklin High; Formal presentations at 5:30 and 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 22, Independence High; Formal presentations at 5:30 and 7 p.m.             
• Thursday, Sept. 23, Centennial   High; Formal presentations at 5:30 and 7 p.m.    

In addition, parents will have the opportunity to provide input through a phone survey that will be conducted for all parents on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. For those parents who do not participate at that time, a follow-up survey will be conducted at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26. The results of the survey will be given to the School Board on Sept. 27. 

The Board has scheduled a special called meeting for Monday, Sept. 27 beginning at 6 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Administrative Complex to discuss the zoning proposal. That meeting will be televised on WC-TV.

Starting at 9 a.m. Friday, parents can access the plan at www.wcs.edu to see their proposed zoned school, maps and information.