Public Forum on Redistricting Tonight at Forsyth Central

continues the task of redistricting for the 2012-13 school year.

Schools that will be impacted include Chattahoochee, Coal Mountain, Cumming, Sawnee, Vickery Creek and Whitlow Elementary Schools; Liberty, Little Mill, North Forsyth, Otwell and Vickery Creek Middle Schools; and Forsyth Central, North Forsyth and West Forsyth High Schools.

After reviewing feedback from all Local School Councils (LSC) impacted with the proposed changes in the first draft of the redistricting maps, five changes were made from the first draft to the second.

School officials received the second draft on Monday, Oct. 17 (see PDF file to the right of the committee recomendations for Draft 2).

The Forsyth County Board of Education will hear more input on the changes made to the draft at the second of two public forums tonight at 7 p.m. at Forsyth Central High School Auditorium. Tonight's forum will focus on high schools impacted, earlier in the week the forum was on the proposed changes to elementary and middle schools.

A press release issued by the school system states that Forsyth County Schools have added 4,500 students since the last redistricting process in 2009 and that school officials need to move students where enrollment is disproportionate or has exceeded capacity of the buildings.

School officials are concentrating on three areas populating the new Kelly Mill Elementary School (a 7:40 a.m. start school), adjusting feeder patterns and moving students from  and  to 

Students entering the fifth, eighth, tenth, eleventh or twelfth grades that are redistricted will have the option to stay at their current school. Those who choose to stay, however, must complete an Out-of-District form and provide their own transportation.

Feedback from this week's forums will be accepted through Monday, Oct. 31. Afterwards a recommended final draft will be presented to the school board on Nov. 3.

The final redistricting maps will be approved by the board on Nov. 17.

Visit Forsyth County Schools Web site for more information on redistricting.