Other business
Also during its meeting Thursday night, Forsyth County’s school board:
• Approved the 2012-13 student calendar, which can be viewed on the system’s Web site.
• Adopted legislative priorities for the 2012 Georgia Legislature. The priorities will be given to local state delegates.
• Heard a presentation on the Common Core Curriculum, which has been adopted in all but six states and will replace many of the mandates set in the federal No Child Left Behind program. It will also shift academic curriculums to ones that are more college and career focused.
— Crystal Ledford
Capping a months-long process that involved much public input, the Forsyth County Board of Education finalized new school attendance lines Thursday.
Board members had spent several hours over the course of two meetings on Nov. 3 and 10 reviewing suggestions from the community.
Public feedback had been received during two public forums in late October, as well as on the system’s Web site.
The board made no additional changes to the lines during its meeting Thursday night.
The new lines were needed to accommodate Kelly Mill Elementary School, which is scheduled to open in August for the 2012-13 school year.
Leaders also wanted to even out high school populations. North and West high schools are crowded, while Forsyth Central is under capacity.
In addition, they wanted to better streamline feeder patterns from elementary to middle to high school.
One parent made a last plea to have his subdivision remain in its former attendance zone.
Speaking during the meeting’s public participation time, William Knot asked officials to consider letting Fox Chase stay put.
Before the board took its unanimous vote to approve the new lines, Associate Superintendent Joey Pirkle assured Knot that the board and redistricting committee had looked at the subdivision’s request.
But the change wasn’t possible, Pirkle said, due to the enrollment numbers at various schools.
Pirkle also gave a brief summary of all the areas the board had asked staff to look at over the past three weeks.
He said in total some seven elementary, five middle and three high schools were affected during the redistricting process.
Pirkle said leaders appreciated all the feedback they had received.
"It was all very helpful," he said.
Board member Ann Crow said the same, but explained that in the process sometimes parents don’t understand the larger implications their requests can have.
"There’s often a bigger area involved," she said. "And if you move one [subdivision], it’s just like a domino effect."
The new zones, can be accessed online at www.forsyth.k12.ga.us.