Proposed changes to the Fort Mill School District attendance areas will not break up neighborhoods, district officials said Tuesday.
Residents are getting their first full look at the proposed 2020–2021 Elementary and 2021–2022 Middle School attendance areas through the school district’s website. The public can give their feedback for over a week, school officials said. A PDF version (link here)is available to view along with a searchable tool that will allow residents to search by street and zip code.
(LINK for elementary school attendance areas here. LINK for middle school attendance areas here.)
The changes are being made to make way for explosive growth and three news schools, including two elementary schools and a middle school.
During Tuesday night’s trustees meeting, consultant Dr. Dale Holden unveiled the areas and mentioned four considerations when developing the new attendance areas.
Keeping neighborhoods intact was the first and most important priority, Dr. Holden said. Also, consultants considered residential development activity, utilizing natural boundaries whenever possible, and transportation routes.
The new routes are being made as the district prepares to open two new elementary schools next fall: Kings Town Elementary School on Masons Bend Drive and River Trail Elementary School on Fort Mill Parkway. In the fall of 2021, Forest Creek Middle School will open on Whites Road.
While some school attendance areas saw minor changes, Sugar Creek and Tega Cay elementary school areas saw no change.
Here is the timeline for approving the attendance areas.
• The public feedback process continues thought Oct. 17.
• The board of trustees will receive the administration’s recommendation at its Oct. 22 meeting.
• The board of trustees will vote on a second reading on Nov. 5.
* In the months following, the district will move forward with assigning staff and giving time for the elementary schools to form their PTOs and School Improvement Councils.
Slides from Tuesday evening presentation show the current and proposed attendance areas for the elementary and middle schools:
