Elementary students could be attending different schools as soon as next year if plans to redistrict Orange County Schools materialize after the board of education’s Monday meeting.
Michael Gilbert, the district’s spokesman, said the rezoning is necessary because of current and potential overcrowding in schools, particularly at Cameron Park and New Hope elementary schools.
“We don’t know if the board is going to go forward with it or not,” he said. “It’s just the first step in the discussion.”
The discussion includes a presentation by Jeff Tsai, a program director at Operations Research and Education Laboratory at N.C. State University.
Tsai said he was approached in the summer by the school board to gather data on the district’s changing population:
“The charge by the board is to look at the long-term growth in the Orange County Schools area, and, using that information in combination with their current school building congestion, see what would be the most logical result.”
Tsai said his team conducted land use surveys to pinpoint subdivisions experiencing residential growth.
High-growth neighborhoods like Churton Grove have played a roll in the surge of enrollment at Cameron Park.
The school, which is one of the highest performing in the district, has a capacity of 565. This year Cameron Park saw a first-month enrollment of 617 students.