County school board to consider redistricting plans

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The Warren County Public Schools board of education could approve a plan to redistrict school boundaries during its monthly meeting Thursday.

Jeff Moore, the district’s director of pupil personnel, is heading up the planning process for the district.

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“We’re trying to do what’s right for all that are involved,” he said.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the central office board room at 303 Lovers Lane. During the meeting, board members could choose to vote on a plan or defer the decision until January.

Board members are considering two plans, and they’re available online at www.warrencounty schools.org/Content/63270, where parents can view interactive maps or lists of affected streets. The changes are needed because of the new Jennings Creek Elementary School next to Henry F. Moss Middle School and continuing growth in other parts of the county.

Should the board decide on a plan Thursday, Moore said the district “would be in total communication with all the families,” to give them time to adjust.

Under the first proposed plan, the boundary for Jennings Creek Elementary School extends in a rough rectangle around Morgantown Road, Veterans Memorial Lane, Russellville Road and William H. Natcher Parkway. The Jennings Creek boundary for the first proposal also has a portion that extends into the Walnut Creek neighborhood, unlike the second proposal.

A large swath of what is currently the Warren Elementary School attendance zone would be converted to Lost River Elementary under the second proposal. A portion of Bristow Elementary School’s current attendance area would also be given to Richardsville Elementary School.

Some of the changes overlap between both proposals, including a neighborhood near the Smart Start Child Care center on Nashville Road. Students in that neighborhood would go from attending William H. Natcher Elementary School to Lost River Elementary School.

The Traditions neighborhood on Lovers Lane would go from Cumberland Trace Elementary to Briarwood Elementary School.

Officials have already held a forum at Warren Central High School and board members discussed the two options during their November board meeting.

Morgan Watson, communications director for WCPS, has reached out to affected families through text messages and emails, she said. Some schools have also been encouraged to send letters home.

“It’s just important for us to let them know that this is going on,” Watson said. She said the district wants to hear from families and to let them know that it’s doing everything it can for the students’ best interests.

Watson said all the emailed messages sent to boundary @warren.kyschools.us have been responded to and families can expect to get follow-up communication if changes are approved.