More than 13,000 Gwinnett County students could attend new or different schools next school year.
Gwinnett officials unveiled maps Monday that outline new boundaries for portions of central and west Gwinnett, which have seen a surge in student population growth in recent years. The maps and other information about Gwinnett's redistricting process are on the school district's website.
One major proposed change is some elementary students who had been zoned to attend Sweetwater Middle will be rezoned to Richards Middle. Sweetwater has about 400 more students than Richards. Another suggested change is many middle school students who would have attended Berkmar High will be rezoned to the new high school.
Gwinnett has scheduled a Dec. 4 meeting at its district headquarters in Suwanee to hear from parents and residents about the proposed changes. In addition to that meeting, there are forms on the district’s website for people to voice their support or opposition to the changes.
School board members are scheduled to vote on the redistricting at a Dec. 18 meeting.
Gwinnett, Georgia’s largest school district, has grown by about 8,000 students over the last two years, district officials said. The district plans to open a new high school, a new middle school and two new elementary schools in August 2015 to accommodate the additional growth.
“The reason for the redistricting is to get kids where the classrooms are,” said Steve Flynt, Gwinnett’s chief strategy and performance officer.
Historically, some Gwinnett parents have opposed sending their children to different schools. The district has a process that allows some students to stay at a particular school, but the parent or guardian must provide transportation for the student.
“We want people to love their school, which makes this hard when you go into redistricting because some people don’t want to change,” said Gwinnett spokeswoman Sloan Roach.
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