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By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Staff Writer
Even with some signs in the auditorium expressing doubt on how much the members care about certain students, the Houston County Board of Education concluded months of discussion and deliberation on Thursday by adopting a new set of high school zones at a called meeting in Perry.
The winning map was not the original one, nor was it an alternate set the board made public at January’s regular meeting on Jan. 12. This map, which passed with a 6-1 vote, was a third option that included modifications to the alternate map.
The lone dissenting vote came from Griff Clements, whose objection came from the fact that the public had not had a chance to look at this third option. His statements brought a round of applause from the full auditorium.
Several of the board members commented on the number of telephone calls and e-mails they had received in the last several months expressing concerns about the re-zoning process. Board member Fred Wilson said even as he pulled into the parking lot of the Staples Building, site of the Houston County BOE offices, he got a call from someone asking to provide input.
“I believe this is close to what the citizens are asking for,” said Wilson about the third option.
In this third map, an area known as Quail Run, which runs from Watson Blvd. to S. Houston Lake Road and borders to the south on Crestview Church and Hatcher Roads, moves from the Houston County High zone back to the Northside High zone. This area is currently zoned for Northside.
Another area that is currently in the Warner Robins zone was rezoned to the new Veterans High School in the original plan. With the third option, it too is returned to Warner Robins High. It is bordered by Sandy Run Road and Hwy. 96 north to south and Moody Road and Hwy. 247 east to west.
Under the approved map, Northside High has the largest three-year average projected enrollment at 1,994 students. Warner Robins High is second at 1,886 students. Houston County High’s average is 1,654 and Perry High’s is 1,246.
The board did not provide an average for Veterans High School, which doesn’t open until the fall. It is projected, though, that Veterans will have an enrollment of 922 students for the first year, 1,237 for the second and 1,230 for the third.
Board chairman Tom Walmer said no one was excluded from the discussions about the new school zones.
Vice-chairman Toby Hill said the board heard an “enormous voice” from the community, which showed that the Houston County citizenry was knowledgeable about this issue. He said, even if they kept putting off the vote week after week to study new maps, they would probably never get to the point of completely satisfying everyone.
“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” said Hill. He and other board members said over and over how much they appreciated the public’s concern.
“Growth can be a blessing or a curse,” said Marianne Melnick, who made the motion to accept the third map. “I like to see it as a blessing. We will have a good school system.”
Clements, before the vote, said while he didn’t like how the third option was presented, he assured people in the audience that their children will get a good education in Houston County.
“Don’t be concerned about your child’s education,” he said.
Both the new elementary school and middle school re-zoning maps were approved by a 7-0 vote.
The other issue involved in the opening of Veterans High School that came to a vote was the policy on siblings of rising seniors. By a 5-2 vote, with Hill and Clements voting against, the board allows for the approval of out-of-zone requests for rising freshmen, sophomores and juniors who are siblings of rising seniors for the 2010-11 school year.
Any student who will be a senior next school year will be allowed to stay at his or her current high school. Their siblings have the option to remain at their current zoned school until graduation, and those students are required to fill out an out-of-zone form before each school year.
This was a second option put before the board. The original option gave siblings of rising seniors also in high school only one year – the 10-11 school year – to make an out-of-zone request.
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