FORT MILL, S.C. — New students enrolling in the Fort Mill School District will be placed at different campuses as school leaders enact an enrollment freeze.
In a statement Wednesday, the district said the freeze affects families in the attendance zones for Gold Hill Elementary School, Gold Hill Middle School, and Pleasant Knoll Middle School.
The purpose, according to district leaders, is to maintain favorable teacher-student ratios and limit overcrowding at current buildings amidst a growing student population.
"What we certainly don't want to end up happening is to continue to pack kids into a school where we end up with, you know, 30 kids in a kindergarten class," Joe Burke, Fort Mill Schools chief communication officer, said. "Or you know, over too many kids to serve for lunch or breakfast time at the school."
Fort Mill is growing at a record pace, according to experts.
"Fort Mill overall has experienced 5% growth year over year, but the population growth has actually grown by over 16% since 2020," Laurie Plyler, a real estate agent and CEO of Keller Williams Connected in Fort Mill, said.
The area is not only seeing transplants from inside South Carolina, but its proximity to Charlotte is attractive for some families.
"Fort Mill is a really unique area because you get a mix of small town and big town amenities, you have new business, new growth, and education system is really attractive," Plyler said.
The district stressed that students currently attending the impacted schools will not be affected, and only affects students who enroll after the freeze is enacted.
"They're going to have those same opportunities at their newest school," Burke said. "So we've worked really hard to make sure that that experience is uniform across the board for all of our kids."
School leaders say the number of students impacted won’t be too large.
"It can be anywhere from five to 20 kids at each school, depending on the number of people who move into that particular area," Burke said.
Here's how the campus reassignments will work:
- Newly-enrolled students in the Gold Hill Elementary attendance zone will be assigned to Orchard Park Elementary School
- Gold Hill Middle School Students will be enrolled at either Springfield Middle School or Banks Trail Middle School depending on their high school attendance zone
- Pleasant Knoll Middle students who live in the Nation Ford High School attendance area will be assigned to Springfield Middle
- Pleasant Knoll Middle Students in the Fort Mill High School attendance zone will be enrolled at Banks Trail Middle
Students who take the bus to school will remain on their assigned bus and travel to their assigned school each day. The district will shuttle students to and from their homes to their assigned schools.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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