Brunswick school board releases redistricting proposals

By Ana Ribeiro
Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 1:47 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 10:32 p.m.

Bolivia | The time is nearing to open two new schools in Brunswick County and move hundreds of students to populate them.

Click to enlarge

Construction continues at Cedar Grove Middle School in Supply on Wednesday. The school is set to open in August 2009.

Staff Photo by Matt Born

Brunswick County Schools redistricting meetings

The plans will be presented to the Brunswick County school board at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the central office, 35 Referendum Drive, Bolivia.
The public will be able to discuss the plans at public forums. The one for Cedar Grove Middle School will be held at the Supply Elementary School cafeteria at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 27. The one for Town Creek Elementary School will be held at the Leland Middle cafeteria at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 28.
For more information, call the county school system at 253-2900.

External Links:

• Brunswick redistricting - PowerPoint

The county schools’ staff will present redistricting options to the school board Tuesday, and hold public forums on the plans later this month. If you have a child at a public school in the county, you may want to attend: The changes will likely affect more than the immediate areas where Cedar Grove Middle and Town Creek Elementary schools are slated to open in August.

Stephen Miley, the schools’ executive director of operations, said he expects the new schools to have some vacant seats after they open.

“We’re hoping to have some room for growth,” Miley said. “This has been our problem – the schools are filled to capacity.”

The new schools, expected to draw students from crowded schools in the county, will serve to level things out and make it easier for the school system to renovate existing schools, Miley said. He intends to propose a $26 million capital improvement plan at Tuesday’s meeting.

The money to build and equip the new schools – about $35 million – comes from a BB&T loan to be repaid over 20 years or so, said Freyja Cahill, the schools’ finance officer.

Also, Miley said, the school system has purchased four extra buses, at $80,000 each, to cover the new schools and address an increase in ridership, which is currently at 6,400 students.

Miley emphasizes the redistricting maps will not be official until the school board decides on an option, considering community input.

He and other school officials were reluctant to release the maps to the media before the board could review them, but they granted a Star-News request for the public records after the school board consulted with its attorney in closed session.

Here are some stats the district provided on its two new schools and what redistricting could mean:

Cedar Grove Middle, 750 Grove Trail, Supply.

The centrally located school being built along with a county park in the Cedar Grove community will be able to hold 650 students in grades 6-8. It will have 37 classrooms and 30 or so teachers. It also will have a gymnasium and multi-use field and access to the park’s soccer, football and baseball fields and tennis and basketball courts.

Current redistricting options call for the new school to draw between 255 and 310 students from Shallotte Middle and 88 to 145 from South Brunswick Middle. Students being promoted would mostly come from Supply and Virginia Williamson Elementary schools, with some perhaps from Southport Elementary and very few from Bolivia Elementary.

The new middle school will cost the district an estimated extra $1.12 million in annual personnel salaries.

Town Creek Elementary, 6330 Lake Park Drive, Winnabow.

The school, located south of Leland near Town Creek Park, will have the capacity for 636 students in pre-K through fifth grades. It will have about 30 teachers, a gymnasium with a stage and cafeteria and 34 classrooms. It also will feature a baseball and soccer field, basketball courts and playground equipment in a large play area.

Current redistricting options could bring to the new school between 205 and 329 students from Belville Elementary, dubbed the most crowded school in the county. In a large variation, one option calls for 53 students to come from Lincoln Elementary, while another calls for 212. Bolivia Elementary could also be affected, with between 132 and 149 students possibly being transferred to the new elementary school. The school will cost the district an estimated extra $739,284 in annual personnel salaries.

Ana Ribeiro: 343-2327

ana.ribeiro@starnewsonline.com