LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. — Limestone County School Board is looking into re-zoning students in several areas. This announcement has left some parents on social media with a few concerns. FOX 54 spoke with the school superintendent who shares why this is happening in hopes to put parents at ease.
Limestone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Shearouse said right now, they're looking at re-zoning the Creekside and East Limestone High School area. The reason? Growth. "We're experiencing a lot of growth in that area, and when you look at the numbers at Creekside Elementary and Creekside Primary, they're either at capacity or above capacity. And then when you look at east limestone, they're nearing capacity. I understand that, you know, it is a difficult decision when you make changes and you know it affects your children. I do understand that we are trying to, you know, work with our families," he stated.
One of those plans to do so involves transportation. "Rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders in a high school, they will be able to continue attending their school if they can provide transportation and their siblings in that school. Also, for instance, if a family currently has a child in the seventh grade and another in the 11th grade." Both students could continue to attend school in that zone at least until the 11th grader finishes high school. "So, you know, if I started high school at East Limestone High School, I can finish if I'm going to be in the 10th, 11th or 12th grade. And so I hope that helps a lot of our families. "
Families who are affected by the proposed changes have already been notified. "An email went out, a text message went out or a phone call went out to let them know. And so a lot of individuals maybe didn't get a call. Well, what that means is you're not affected by the changes, and I think some individuals like, why didn't I get a call? Because we were trying to be strategic and just contact the individuals who would be affected by the proposed changes."
So how soon could this change happen? "So we start the process with a meeting. So every receiving school is going to have a meeting at their school. So we're going to have all of those meetings and then the board will make a decision on the proposal and their march meeting. and so this would take effect for next school year."
