Rumor Mill – September 3, 2015

Published September 3, 2015

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 live on an already busy road and have heard recently that a new school was going to be built and land had been purchased to build. The new school would be on Critz Lane beside Canterbury. Just wondering if this was true and if the roads would be able to accommodate the increased traffic in an already congested area?

WCS has not purchased any land on Critz Lane or anywhere else in the southern part of the county. However, by its very nature, schools are built near where families live, and there is congestion near most schools at both start and release times. The district has identified property in that area, however no final decision has been made. When a school site is selected, the district will perform a traffic study to determine if roadway improvements are necessary at the entrance and exit to the school. The district will also work with the governmental agencies that have jurisdiction over the roadways to do what we can to help them address traffic on public roads.

The Saddle Springs subdivision is currently zoned for Spring Station and Summit, which are both approximately 13 miles (and no convenient route to get there). Is there any possibility this subdivision of only 20 or so homes, would get rezoned to the Page middle and high system during 2016/2017 year, which is less than four miles away and requires only a single turn onto Arno Road?

Saddle Springs is just under 11 miles from Spring Station and Summit. Page Middle School is currently over capacity with multiple developing subdivisions in the zone. When we open a new middle school, we will evaluate zoning for that new school to address capacities at all three middle schools currently in the southern part of the county.

I have children at Page Middle and Centennial High. We plan on moving into a rental home for 6-12 months while we construct a new home. If our rental home is in a different zone (not Page or Centennial), can my children still attend their current schools if we provide transportation?

Students who move out of a school zone can complete that current school year at the school where they were attending when school started. The timing for you may depend on where you are living when the next school year begins.

We live in Breezeway. We are located right next to Clovercroft Elementary. I understand that zoning kids for the right schools is a complicated thing, and you have to take into account many different factors, but I believe the kids in the “Clovercroft Corridor” are getting a raw deal. We love Clovercroft Elementary and could not ask for a better school! The problem starts at the next level. While most my children’s friends who they have met while attending Clovercroft will go to Page Middle School, the kids who live right down Clovercroft Road, are zoned for Woodland Middle School. It is just a small group of kids and they are going to go to a new school and have to meet all new friends! If that wasn’t tough enough, when they go to high school, it happens again! They are zoned for Centennial High School. Their friends from Woodland will mostly be going to Ravenwood, their friends from Clovercroft will mostly be going to Page High. I am all for meeting new people and experiencing new things, but it seems awfully unfair to keep splitting this small group of kids away from their friends that they meet in school. I think when rezoning happens again, they should be kept in mind, so that they can somehow remain with their friends.

Page Middle School is over-capacity. If all the students from Clovercroft Elementary transitioned to Woodland Middle, it would be over-capacity. Nolensville High School is currently under construction to relieve the number of students attending Ravenwood High. Two new developments will start building houses by the end of the calendar year off Clovercroft Road which means the number of students transitioning from Clovercroft to Woodland Middle will increase. In-Focus will be your source for any rezoning news in the coming months.

Dr. Looney mentioned four new schools in the next four years besides the ones in Nolensville. Will one of those four be a new high school? If so where, and rough estimates of zoning? Estimated completion date/opening school year?

In addition to Nolensville High which is currently under construction, the district’s Five Year Capital Outlay Plan includes plans for a new middle and high school complex in the northwestern part of the county which would open in the fall of 2020. No land has been purchased at this time. The Five Year Capital Outlay Plan is updated on an annual basis and is subject to change. Click here to view the Five Year Capital Outlay Plan.