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Rumor Mill-5640

Published March 28, 2014

The purpose of this section is to answer any questions parents, teachers or community members might have regarding the school district and to set the record straight in regards to any rumors that might be circulating.

If you have a question or have heard a rumor that you would like for us to address, simply SEND US your questions and we will respond to them in upcoming issues of InFocus. Below are some of the questions we have received since our last issue.

I keep hearing from neighbors and fellow parents that there will be discussions at the next school board meeting about splitting the neighborhood of McKay's Mill. I have heard different situations like splitting the neighborhood down Liberty Pike with one side attending Trinity Elementary and the other remaining at Clovercroft. Or possibly splitting the neighborhood front and back attending the different schools. Can you answer or address this?

There are no plans to discuss rezoning the McKay's Mill subdivision at the April School Board meeting.

Who decided to have Spring Break so early? I think the county should schedule Spring Break at the end of March or the beginning of April when the weather is likely to be warmer.

The school calendar is decided annually by the School Board. Per Board Policy, a calendar committee made up of teachers and administrators makes a recommendation to the Board based on parameters given to the committee by the School Board. In the past, a sampling of parameters might include keeping semesters as even as possible while having first semester exams prior to Winter Break; making sure that the last day of school falls before Memorial Day; or including a Fall Break of one or two days. Once recommendations are made to the Board, Board members gather input from their constituents before making a final decision.

You are always welcome to contact your School Board member on any topic. Board member contact information can be found at http://www.wcs.edu/school_board/homepage.htm.

Is WCS compensated for after-hours use of school facilities by sports and religious organizations?

According to School Board Policy 3.206, "In no instance is it the purpose of the Board to realize a profit in renting a school facility; however, the Board, in opening school buildings for use, does incur certain expenses. The Board reserves the right to bill any facility user basic operational costs and extra services beyond those costs. These expenses include utilities, custodial services and supervision personnel."

Will the school year be shortened this year due to unused snow days? If so, when will we know the answer?

At the March 24 School Board meeting, Superintendent Looney told Board members he will request that the district use one of the few unused inclement weather days and dismiss one day early this year. That means the last day for students will be a half day on Wednesday, May 21. The Board will vote on that request at its April meeting.

I've been following the opening of the new Nolensville schools and wondered if you might know when the district plans to discuss zoning? I know this is always a hot topic. Would they rezone for the year that the school opens or do they give families options ahead of time?

I ask because we are in one of those neighborhoods that have been rezoned several times over the years (cool springs east). We are currently zoned for Centennial but Rumor Mill has it that when those schools open we will rezone for Ravenwood. My oldest will start Centennial in 2015.

At its March 24 meeting, the School Board determined zoning parameters for Mill Creek Elementary, Mill Creek Middle and Nolensville High. The schools are scheduled to open in the fall of 2016. The group instructed staff to:

  • Plan for opening Nolensville High with freshmen and sophomores only.
  • Establish zones for the new schools with growth in mind.
  • Plan to minimize future rezoning in the area, with the zoning plan to last for three to five years.
  • Plan for efficient bus routes lasting less than one hour each way.
  • Do not base zoning on city limit lines or zip codes.

No rezoning related to the new schools will take effect until 2016.

Besides printing their name in the newspaper and during the graduation ceremony, how do Williamson County schools recognize high school students who make the honor roll? Do they receive honor roll pins for their letterman jackets or certificates? I realize that a great percentage of students achieve this status in WCS, but they still deserve to be recognized.

Different schools choose to recognize honor roll students in different ways. There is no district-wide protocol for recognizing honor roll students at the high school level. Each school has a media contact who volunteers their time to distribute information to local media outlets. These media contacts typically provide honor roll information to the local media for publication. Contact your school to find out what it does to recognize its honor roll students.