Mention the words school rezoning in Williamson County, in particular Brentwood, and alarms go off. Such is the case right now, with the proposed rezoning of several Cool Springs-area neighborhoods from Ravenwood High School to Centennial.

The issue is simple. Ravenwood has 1900 students, Centennial has 1300.

“The County Commission has asked us to utilize our facilities as best we can,” Williamson County Schools’ board chairman Pat Anderson said. “We must try to make do with what we have.”

For Williamson County Schools’ board and staff, that means looking at the big picture, projecting growth trends and determining what construction projects take priority. It also means rezoning, but trying to do that the smart way.

Anderson said she knows how tough rezoning proposals are for everyone involved. But she stressed that in the Ravenwood proposal, which would move students who live in the Alara Brook, Alara Cool Springs, Alara Farms, Ashton Park, Avalon (excluding The Meade at Avalon), Carronbridge, The Knolls, The Meadow, The Village, and The Woods to Centennial, complete neighborbhoods would be rezoned together.

Ravenwood, opened in 2002 was built for a capacity of 1800 students, a size Anderson said the board considers ideal. “It provides opportunities and allows the school to be competitive.

“We really believe that 1800 is the limit on high school capacity. Any more than that and you change the opportunities available to students,” she said.

Centennial High School can house 1600 but has only 1300 at present. The proposed rezoning will affect about 200 students.

Anderson stressed that the district has 37 schools “and they are all outstanding.”

“Our goal is to provide the same opportunities for every child in every school,” she said, though she acknowledged that every school has its own distinct personality.

“The good news for any of these families is that they’re going to have the opportunity to go to another great school.”

An information meeting is planned for 5-7 p.m. Thursday in the Ravenwood cafeteria. It is designed to give families who live in the affected neighborhoods a chance to see maps, attendance numbers and the district’s five-year plans. It’s also an opportunity for them to get as many of their questions answered as possible.

Anderson said she will attend and she anticipates other board members who represent the Brentwood, Cool Springs and Franklin neighborhoods affected to also be there. Central Office staff will be on hand, stationed at individual tables in order to talk to as many people as possible.

A decision is expected at a special called meeting Nov. 30. Anderson said she is not sure where the meeting will be held or details on its agenda yet, but she promised to share that information as soon as it’s available.

“We don’t enjoy rezoning,” she stated but acknowledged in a growing county in a time of economic uncertainty it’s the prudent thing to consider.

She also said that she knows emotions are high and that change is hard.

“We all love our schools, and that’s a good thing,” she said.

Cheri Hammond, Ravenwood PTO president, welcomes Thursday night’s meeting as an opportunity to learn more. She also said families in the affected neighborhoods “have gathered and are preparing well.”

Calling the proposed rezoning a “tenuous situation,” Hammond said the PTO is not taking a stand on the issue but is trying its best to pass on information.

“No matter what, rezoning is hard. ... We honor our sister school, Centennial, and at the same time we’re a family here at Ravenwood High School,” she said.

 “Ravenwood has great, involved parents,” she said. Because the school draws students from Brentwood, Nolensville and northeast Franklin, it’s developed its own community, its own “DNA,” Hammond called it.

She also mentioned the feeder system that is in place within WCS and noted that the rezoning would definitely have an impact on that dynamic within the Ravenwood community.