Monday night, the Boone County School District will get parents' input into a middle-school redistricting plan.

        The Boone Schools' Demographics and Growth Committee, along with the Boone County Planning Commission, proposed a redrawing of the middle-school boundaries about two weeks ago to spread enrollment more evenly among the district's four middle schools and plan for future students in Kentucky's fastest-growing county.

Nathan Myers (from left), Edward Pineda and Andrew Walker work on a lesson in an eighth-grade classroom with empty desks at R.A. Jones Middle School in Florence on Friday. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        The proposed boundaries would move about 105 students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades next year at Ockerman, Gray and Conner middle schools into R.A. Jones Middle School in Florence, which administrators say is under capacity.

        Enrollment at the school is currently about 470 students, but Assistant Superintendent for Operations Mike Hibbett said the school can hold about 600 students.

        “We're trying to balance out the enrollment, because we have an almost overcrowded enrollment in one of our schools and the other has too few students,” Superintendent Bryan Blavatt said.

        The panels tentatively redrew the boundaries to move about 70 students from Ockerman Middle School and about six each from Gray and Conner middle schools into R.A. Jones, said Richard Griffith, director of pupil personnel.

        Ockerman currently has about 720 students. The school can hold about 770, Mr. Hibbett said. While the school is not currently overcrowded, it is approaching its limit and will continue to grow, he said.

NEW DISTRICT

Boone Subdivisions Changed to the Jones District     Community - Current District     Mineola (Rolling Green Acres) - Conner     Mineola/Ohara/Cox Roads - Conner     Turfway Apartments - Ockerman     Lt Utz Subdivision - Ockerman     Daugherty and Taylor - Ockerman     Colonial Estates - Ockerman     Normandy Green (Apts) - Ockerman     Alandale - Ockerman     Ezra Fish (Shelby/Girard, etc) - Ockerman     Downtown Florence - Ockerman     Coludoth Heights - Ockerman     Center Park - Ockerman     Bradford (Florence) - Ockerman     Liberty Square - Ockerman     Bluegrass - Ockerman     Denhams - Ockerman     Town and Country - Ockerman     Plantation Apartments - Ockerman     Dream Street - Ockerman     Mount Zion Apartments - Gray     Haven Hill (New subdivision off Mt. Zion) - Gray     Mt. Zion Rd. (Gunpowder to I-75) - Gray

        The rest of the affected students are currently in fifth grade at local elementary schools, he said.

        Students affected by the new boundaries were given a letter to their parents explaining the changes, Mr. Blavatt said. Parents of students not affected were not sent a copy of the letter, but copies of the proposal were placed in all middle schools, he said.

        “It's not a major move,” Mr. Griffith said. “This is basically designed to clean up some boundaries that we have, give relief to Ockerman and give help to declining enrollment at Jones.”

        Mr. Blavatt stressed that the new boundaries are only a proposal. Parents will have an opportunity to voice their opinions at the public meeting Monday. The panels will then consider parents' views before presenting the proposal to the school board, Mr. Blavatt said.

        “Nothing is definite at this point,” he said.

        The redistricting would not have a large effect on Conner Middle School, which currently has almost 1,000 students in a building Mr. Hibbett said can hold about 1,000. Gray Middle School currently has about 780 students, and Mr. Hibbett said the building holds about 800 students.

        Administrators hope to have a new middle school built by the 2003-04 school year, which they say will have more of an effect on Gray and Conner middle schools.

        “Doing (redistricting) now is important because we can do it (at this stage), and it does give relief to Ockerman,” Mr. Griffith said.

        The meeting, at 6:30 p.m. at R.A. Jones Middle School, is open to the public.
       

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