MADISON, Ala. (WHNT) — With more families moving in and space running out, Madison City Schools is forced to make some tough decisions.
Its’ rezoning plan is bringing both relief and worry.
“We are just bursting at the seams. Even when you pull out what you’re going to pull out, we’re going to be back in the same position,” said Martha Sparks, a former full-time MCS teacher and current substitute teacher at Midtown Elementary.
Some parents and faculty members expressed concerns over the proposed rezoning plan at a public hearing on Monday night.
Alena Mitchell, the mother of a third grader at Madison Elementary, said she and most of her neighbors disapprove of the plan to rezone to Midtown Elementary School.
“I actually did a poll today in our neighborhood group, and no one was for changing to Midtown. I think changing them to a bigger school that’s twice the size of Madison Elementary would have pretty drastic effects,” Mitchell said.
Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols said the current rezoning proposal is the eighth draft from school leadership after months of discussions and revisions from the community. To limit disruptions, the school system is giving students in 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades the option to stay at their current school if rezoned.
But for parents like Suzanne Kantmann, that still leaves her two high school sons, a rising freshman and a rising senior, separated.
“I’m just asking for a siblings clause because the senior will be bringing the freshman to school,” Kantmann said. “I just want my kids together.”
Superintendent Nichols said the purpose of Monday’s hearing was to take all comments into consideration before voting on a zoning plan. He said he is open to exploring options that would help families in a similar situation to the Kantmanns.
“I don’t take it lightly when we move anybody, I know that’s a big issue to move your student,” Superintendent Nichols said. “But I also understand that it would be a big issue if we didn’t start moving people around. So we’ll go back and take a look at the comments we got tonight.”
Nichols said that hearing fewer than ten comments on Monday night, as opposed to receiving thousands at the start of the process, shows the district is moving in the right direction.
He said staffing changes will need to be addressed and bus routes reconfigured once the zoning plan is approved, so he expects the school board to vote on it at a meeting in November.
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