A meeting was held last night at the Liberty Middle School auditorium to voice concerns about dividing Liberty elementary school students into two separate facilities.
Pickens County school superintendent Dr. Henry Hunt made a brief presentation and answered questions.
Hunt pointed out that of the four high school districts, Liberty is the only one currently with just one elementary school feeding into it.
Hunt said Liberty Elementary public school attendance lines would be divided into Liberty North and Liberty South. It just so happens that the railroad track (shown in red above) nearly identically splits both socio-economic and racial factors straight down the middle.
Some parents expressed concerns over the travel distance if right on the line.
SIDE NOTE: When I attended school I was the furthest a student could possibly be from my elementary school, living right at the line for both Pickens and Six Mile Elementary. In Middle School, I was the furthest I could possibly be from Edwards and Daniel and was actually closer to Liberty and Pickens ... I went to Edwards Junior High (now Edwards Middle)and graduated from Daniel High School.
Hunt said officials would likely be able to be flexible with school choice, at least for the next several years.
A parent asked if the school district has taken into consideration the projected population growth near the Pickens County Commerce Park as they set attendance zones for the two elementary schools. His concern was that the population would balloon in that area, forcing district lines to be redrawn and disrupting the students once again.
Hunt said that nobody actually knows how quickly the population will grow in any one area. “That’s why they call them ‘projections,’” Hunt said.
Hunt said that all of the schools being built are designed with an eye toward allowing additions to be constructed when needed.
Hunt stated that the building of Chastain Elementary will allow the district to remove all portables from Liberty Elementary.
Liberty Elementary Principal Lowell Haynes was in attendance.
After the meeting I asked a personal question:
"Had any consideration been given to Liberty Elementary possibly losing Title I status (and therefore funding) once the new school was built."
Hunt said that Title I funds weren't guarantied anyway, but that he feels the lines could possibly make BOTH Liberty Schools Title I fund eligible.
* If anyone would like a copy of the racial and socio-economic breakdowns for Liberty that Hunt allowed me to copy at the meeting, please leave a comment on this post and I will arrange to get them to you.
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