Why some Muscogee County students will be assigned to different schools
Students throughout Columbus could be attending different schools after the Muscogee County School District finishes its first comprehensive restructuring of attendance zones in more than a quarter century — and one board member voiced concern it could result in resegregated schools.
The MCSD administration presented to the board the rationale and process for restructuring the attendance zones during Monday night’s monthly work session.
In the past 25 years, construction of new neighborhoods, new roads and new schools, plus the closing of old schools and the increase or decrease of the population in various parts of Columbus, have caused attendance zone problems, according to the explanation on the agenda.
The administration listed three goals for changing zone boundary lines:
Improve the sustainability of attendance zones in growing residential areas.
Improve the balance of feeder schools so middle schools don’t have significantly more elementary schools and high schools don’t have significantly more middle schools funneling students to them.
Improve the efficiency of student transportation.
MCSD formed a task force to explore options, propose solutions and implement the final plan. The district’s Teacher Advisory Council will review the task force’s work and provide feedback throughout the process. According to the administration, the task force will consider the following factors:
Population changes to existing neighborhoods and plans for future neighborhoods.
Feeder school patterns.
School capacities for enrollment, academic programs and special services.
Pedestrian safety.
Safety and efficiency for student transportation, changes in traffic patterns and major roads. Superintendent David Lewis said he wants to eliminate situations where neighborhoods have students living on opposite sides of a street assigned to different schools.
In a video MCSD chief operations officer Travis Anderson showed the board, Eddy Middle School principal Kevin Aviles said some middle schools have as many as seven feeder schools. Having fewer would help those schools create more of a community atmosphere, he said.
Anderson told the board a mandated 30-day comment period will allow the public an opportunity to provide feedback about the administration’s proposal before the new attendance zones are finalized, but he didn’t specify how and when.
Resegregating schools?
District 4 representative Naomi Buckner wondered aloud whether restructuring attendance zones would resegregate schools “even more so than what we have now.”
Anderson replied, “We are taking into consideration the impact of demographics to make sure we are not unintentionally creating a situation in which we are segregating our schools.”
He said, “Our city overall is extremely diverse.”
Buckner countered, “Our city is extremely diverse, but many of our neighborhoods are segregated.”
MCSD ATTENDANCE ZONE TASK FORCE
Travis Anderson, chief operations officer.
Terry Baker, west region chief.
Robin Barber, operations and support services director.
Jeff Battles, athletics director.
Matt Bell, central region chief.
Jerald Bellamy, transportation operations supervisor.
Tonya Douglass, principal of Waddell Elementary School.
Wes Drury, development and business support manager.
Kenya Gilmore, prevention and intervention practices director.
Erika Grantham, transportation routing specialist.
Sureya Hendrick, principal of Shaw High School.
Christine Hull, K-12 curriculum executive director.
Godfrey Jackson, transportation director.
Stephanie Lilly, transportation assistant director.
Terri Myers, principal of Rothschild Leadership Academy.
Trikella Nelson, guidance programs director.
Kevin Scott, student services director.
Sonia Sheehan, student services manager.
Kimberly Thomas, director of Early Success Centers.
Victoria Thomas, career, technical and agricultural education director.
Ronald Wiggins, east region chief.
Kimberly Wright, communications director.
Anderson told the Ledger-Enquirer via email that the superintendent’s cabinet appointed the task force members based on the individual’s role in the District. The task force consults with the city’s Planning Department. The Teacher Advisory Council will review the work of the task force and provide feedback throughout the process. The Teacher Advisory Council has a representative from each school in the District. Representatives are appointed by their principals.
“We are planning a number of public engagement opportunities throughout the entire process. Additionally, Board policy requires public engagement before the Board votes on the final recommendations. Since we are in the early stages of this initiative, we are unaware of what schools will or will not be impacted; this will be determined as we go through the process.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 11:27 AM.
