With the new Cumberland Trace Elementary School expected to open in August and growth continuing throughout its district, Warren County Public Schools is once again considering plans to redraw school attendance zones, but district leaders are adamant high schools will not be affected by the changes.

The topic was discussed at last week’s WCPS school board meeting, which was streamed via Facebook Live, and Superintendent Rob Clayton said a district website with more information was set to go live Monday.

“We know during the pandemic there’s a lot going on, and right now the focus is more about will our kids be in school tomorrow or the next day,” Clayton said Thursday during the meeting. “We want our community to know that we are working diligently to not only prepare for the opening of a new building in Cumberland Trace but then also looking at the growth in our district and trying as best as we can to take that into account as we redraw the boundary lines.”

Clayton said “the redistricting process will not impact the high school lines at this time.”

That statement was reiterated by board member Amy Duvall, who said she’s already receiving questions about the topic.

“The most common concern that we always hear – and I’m already hearing it – is the concern about high school lines,” Duvall said. “This will not impact high school lines. … This will just impact elementary school lines and not high school lines.”

Normally, when the district makes changes to school attendance zones, it holds public forums to hear stakeholders’ feedback. The coronavirus pandemic and the need to avoid large public gatherings has complicated that prospect, however.

Still, Clayton said the district will collect feedback from those who would be affected by the changes.

“We’re a community school district, and we want our community to be a part of any process, certainly this process,” Clayton said.

During Thursday’s board meeting, Duvall requested that all feedback about the changes be made personally available to her for review.

“I want to hear from the community,” Duvall said.

Warren County Board of Education Chairman Kerry Young noted that the district’s website will include not just a map but also a list of street names that are under consideration for redistricting.

District spokeswoman Morgan Watson also told the board that schools that are under consideration for redistricting will be notified and that the families themselves will be contacted once the proposed changes are cemented.

Clayton said that the district is aiming to put a final proposal before the school board for its consideration “no later than the February board meeting.”

– Follow education reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @NewsByAaron or visit bgdailynews.com.