BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — School board members are contemplating options for school rezoning before a final decision is made.
The public will get a better view at the options when the proposed maps are placed online. Meanwhile, school board members will be taking a closer look as well.
The decision will, however, be finalized well before the opening of Bradford Elementary School in the fall.
The rezoning only affects elementary level students as there is only one middle school and one high school.
Perhaps the biggest take away now is that this year’s fifth-graders — the rising sixth-graders — will be allowed to remain at their current school when the schools become K-6 in the fall. This will prevent two consecutive years of transition, the first to a new elementary school and then to the middle school the following year.
Of course, school choice is still an option for families and there are many current students who attend an out-of-zone school. Requests to attend the new school are anticipated. The district does not provide transportation for those students, however, and there can be restrictions based on academic performance and discipline.
Using limited census data on population and race along with student address data from multiple sources, consultant John Gilreath from DRMP discussed the methodology behind the proposed maps during the Jan. 23 workshop. Infrastructure and transportation to and from schools are taken into consideration as well as the potential for future land use and development within the school zones.
The proposals take K-5 student numbers into consideration only and impact the current number of students enrolled at each school very little. Lawtey Elementary remains under capacity, but that is because shifting its zone any further south would result in further diluting the school’s diversity by adding additional white students. The Lawtey zone in untouched in either of the two proposals.
The proposals manage to preserve diversity at current levels across the district. Other goals include drawing clear lines based on natural divisions such as roads, creeks or rivers, and trying not to divide neighborhoods between schools whenever possible.
One characteristic eliminated from the current zones is a rectangular block around Sampson, Rowell and Crosby lakes dividing Starke and Southside (Bradford) elementary schools. Gilreath said it appeared to be based on legal descriptions derived from land surveys instead of natural dividing lines.
The proposed maps divide those zones more or less horizontally from west to east. In the west, the line follows the CSX right of way east to Southwest 137th Street, hugging the south Sampson Lake community before making its way to U.S. 301. From there it goes north to State Road 100.
The other notable change is in central Starke where the dividing line runs east on S.R. 100, north on Water Street, east on North Street, south on Old Lawtey and east on State Road 16 to the county line. The current line goes turns north from 100 at the CSX rail line, then east on Thomas Street and north on Old Lawtey Road.
There is very little difference between the two proposed maps. In the second map, the short Sampson River is used as a boundary line on the way to Sampson Lake, unlike the first. The boundary then proceeds in a direct line to the northwest.
The available maps make details difficult to see, but Gilreath promised better maps are coming. Parents will also be able to type in their address online and see which zone they fall into, something that is even hard to determine on a map if you live near a boundary line.
After rezoning, the assumption is that students will go to school in that zone, but school choice is not eliminated. Superintendent Will Hartley said there are as many as 40 students each in Starke and Southside who are going to school out of zone. Initially, it will appear there is a large shift of students. Following rezoning, families will be able to apply for their school of choice once again.
The school board will workshop rezoning again, followed by meetings to hear public comment.
