After the adjournment of the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Henry Hunt will make a presentation about the proposed new attendance lines for Dacusville Middle School.
The new attendance lines will take some of the students who attend Crosswell and McKissick elementaries from Gettys Middle School.
Gettys Middle School, with an enrollment of 1288 students, is currently the largest middle school of the five in the School District of Pickens County. Dacusville Middle School, with an enrollment of 364, is the smallest middle school in the county.
“Boundary change affect everyone at a school — students, teachers and parents,” Superintendent Dr. Henry Hunt said in a letter to parents. “The process of developing attendance areas is not easy, and it’s a process that the School District of Pickens County takes very seriously. Public input is essential in establishing lines that can best meet the needs of all students and their families while meeting the district’s needs.”
The proposed re-drawn attendence lines would move 189 students from Gettys to Dacusville Middle.
East End Elementary students who live north of Saluda Dam Road would be zoned to attend Dacusville Middle. That rezoning would affect 101 students.
Crosswell students living north of U.S. 123 would be rezoned to attend Dacusville Middle. That rezoning would affect 88 students.
The new boundaries would go in effect for the 2012-13 school year, meaning that current third-graders would be the first to attend Dacusville Middle in Fall, 2012.
When the affected students reach high school age, they would be zoned to attend Easley High School. However, any of the affected students who wish to attend Pickens High School so that they would be with their Dacusville Middle School classmates at Pickens High School would be allowed to do so, although the district would not provide transportation to Pickens High School
If the proposed attendance zone changes are adopted, Gettys Middle School’s enrollment would fall to 1099. Dacusville Middle School’s new enrollment would be 553, close to the same size as Liberty Middle School.
As part of the district’s building plan, the current Easley High School will be remodeled to become the new Gettys Middle School.
Plans for Dacusville Middle School include adding a secure front entrance, replacing the carpet in the cafeteria with tile, and upgrading the science classrooms to comply with codes.
The district also has the option of increasing the school’s capacity by adding classrooms and a computer lab.
“Ensuring that there is an appropriate population in each middle school is essential,” Hunt wrote in his letter to parents. “Enrollment numbers should support and enhance the learning environment for all students. A school that is too small or too large isn’t always efficient and effective in meeting all students’ needs — academic safety, social and emotional.”
After Hunt’s presentation on the proposed new attendance zone, the meeting will be open for citizen input.
The meeting is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. with an executive session. The public portion of the meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.
On the meetings agenda is the approval of the bid for the construction of the new Daniel High School, approval of the bid for remodeling at Dacusville Middle School and Liberty Elementary School, and approval of the schematic design for remodeling at McKissick Elementary.
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