Columbia County schools approve changes to attendance areas

EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Columbia County School District has approved their relocation proposal on Tuesday night.

There have been three public sessions for a plan to change the attendance boundaries for some schools.

The fourth meeting took place Tuesday night during the Columbia County Board of Education meeting.

During the first session, no public comment was allowed, but members of the public were allowed to write their comments on cards and submit them at the other meetings.

Now that the plan is approved, more than 800 students will go to different schools.

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“This has been a two year process,” said Associate Superintendent Penny Jackson.

With one school closing and one school opening, the district has to move students around.

“South Columbia students will feel like they’re a part of Martinez and Blue Ridge and Evans from day one,” she said.

Construction is underway for Westmont Elementary School, and work will start soon for North Columbia Elementary School. This is sending ripple effects to many other schools.

“Everyone’s going to get a quality education regardless of what school they attend. So now the job becomes making sure that our transitions are smooth and that our students families and teachers feel supported,” said Jackson.

Exemptions will be possible. For example, a student who’ll be a senior in high school can stay at their current school. Students in 9-11 grades can fill out a form to stay in their current school if they can provide a ride.

There isn’t much wiggle room for elementary and middle schools.

“You can imagine the ripple effect that would cause because you start letting them even if they can provide their own transportation that doesn’t relieve the crowding at one school. And it certainly doesn’t, especially with moving having to move the number of students that were having to move this time around,” said Jackson.

After the new year she says the registration and informational meetings will start taking place to ensure a smooth transition.

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The changes

Areas impacted from South Columbia Elementary School to Blue Ridge Elementary include:

Petersburg Station, Magnolia Trace, El Cordero, Phillips Estates, Village at Riverwatch, Old Petersburg Plantation, addresses north of Riverwatch Parkway between Stage Coach Way and Baston Road.

Areas impacted from South Columbia Elementary to Evans Elementary include:

Addresses and roads off of Rountree Way, addresses and roads off of Riverwatch Parkway between Washington Road and Columbia Industrial Boulevard, addresses south of Riverwatch Parkway between Columbia Industrial Boulevard and Old Evans Road (Connor Place and Lakeside on Riverwatch).

Areas impacted from Evans Elementary to Westmont Elementary include:

Emerson and Pendleton Place at Crawford Creek, roads within Crawford Creek connected to and including Sinclair Drive, Lillian Park Drive, and Wayne Drive, Glennwood and Evanston neighborhoods, addresses on the east side of North Belair between Owens Road and Pineland Drive and Edwards Drive and Morningside Drive.

Areas impacted from Martinez Elementary to Westmont Elementary include:

Hickory Grove, Shadowmoor, Sedgefield, Moss Creek, Ashton Woods, and West Lynne Neighborhoods off of Columbia Road. Addresses and roads south of Owens Road from Marty Dr. to Washington Road. The Belmont apartments. Addresses on the east side of North Belair between Columbia Road and Pineland Drive.

Areas impacted from South Columbia Elementary to Martinez Elementary include:

All addresses and connecting neighborhoods off of Old Evans Road and all neighborhoods and addresses south of Riverwatch Parkway from Blue Ridge Drive to Baston Road and north of Washington Road from Hightower Drive to Baston Road.

Areas impacted from Brookwood Elementary to Westmont Elementary include:

The area of South Old Belair Road to include Cutter Mill Road, Perry Mill Circle, Mill Pond Court, Amelia Drive, Brookgreen Road, Millhollow Lane, Millbrook Road, Millhaven Road,and addresses west of 4633 Millhaven Road.

Areas impacted from Lewiston Elementary to Westmont Elementary include:

Addresses on North Old Belair Road between Columbia Road and Longmeadow Drive, and Faithful Way and Orchard Place.

For 2025, Euchee Creek Elementary School and North Harlem Elementary School will send some students to North Columbia Elementary.

Areas impacted from Euchee Creek Elementary to North Columbia Elementary include:

Louisville Rd between I-20 and Columbia Road, and any connecting roads or neighborhoods in that area. Columbia Road addresses between Louisville Road and High Meadows Drive and any connecting roads in that area.

Areas impacted from North Harlem Elementary to North Columbia Elementary include:

South of I-20 to Harlem High School and west of Highway 221 following Clary Cut Drive as the boundary. This will include the Green Point Area.

Harlem and Greenbriar middle and high schools’ affected areas include:

Highway 221, Burns Road, and Linder McCurdy Road to the county line/dam.

Evans and Grovetown middle and high schools’ affected areas include:

South of I-20 and east of Old Wheeler Road, any connecting roads to Old Wheeler Road, any address or connecting roads east of Old Wheeler Road on Wrightsboro Road and any connecting roads or neighborhoods off of Powell Road.

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