Can someone explain this Williamson County school rezoning stuff to me? (Franklin: real estate market, house)

[HastingsJD]

Thanks for the info on the schools Septimus - very helpful. Good to know that Franklin has the IB program. I did the IB program in high school as well and it was very difficult. Allowed me to get a year's worth of college credit though so it was worth it!

Glad to hear more on Page HS as well. I've found a lot of homes that we like that are zoned for that school and have been curious about it. I keep reading that the area zoned for Page is more rural. Sounds so appealing to me at this point but that may just be me fed up with the overcrowding in LA! Not sure if would be the best place for kids though - I'm wondering if it would be better to live in a more suburban neighborhood so my kids could have friends in the area to play with. Or am I getting the wrong impression of the area zoned for Page - is it really more suburban than I'm thinking it is?

[BirdieBelle]

It depends on the house. Some are more suburban, but most of the Page zone really is definitely rural.

[septimus]

Page is more rural, but McKay which is classic suburbia is zoned for Page (even though Centennial is in its backyard).

[Ldoubled]

The IB program is open to anyone in Williamson county, you would just have to provide your own transportation if you are not zoned for Franklin.

There may be a few other programs out there that let you attend out of your zone but IB is the only one that I haven't heard a rumor of being closed after the current rezoning.

[HastingsJD]

Thanks Ldoubled. Good to know. My son hasn't started kindergarten yet but it's always good to keep tabs on this kind of stuff :-)

[cba1956]

Originally Posted by septimus

Ravenwood also has/had some drug issues.

I have taught at Ravenwood, volunteered at Ravenwood, and have had one of my children go 9-12 at Ravenwood, and I am not at all sure where this comes from. i do know that all WCS schools have random locker/car searches every year, and drugs have been found at all schools. Ravenwood's principal writes about these searches for the parents and the community to know about, and none of the other principals do. I would like to see some solid facts backing your statement here.....

[akm4]

If you're saying that RHS has no drug issues, then it must be the only high school in the country that can make that claim.

[cba1956]

Originally Posted by akm4

If you're saying that RHS has no drug issues, then it must be the only high school in the country that can make that claim.

No, I am saying there are drug problems at all the HS in WCS; Ravenwood is the only one that will openly address them.

[akm4]

Gotcha. So the searches are a surprise, and your principal writes about the results afterward? I like that idea!

[trustfundbaby]

Originally Posted by HastingsJD

Well, I've read enough posts and looked at some suggested links so I get the general gist of what's going on, but trying to get a grip on what this all really means.

Does this rezoning stuff happen every few years based on the growth of Williamson County?

My husband and our son are planning to relocate to Nashville in the next few years (well 2) from California. My husband is a native of TN and went to law school in Nashville. I was in law school in California at the time, but still spent lots of time in Nashville visiting him and loved it. California is a great place, but not for us anymore. (too far from family, too expensive (especially when our biggest expense = school loan debt), yadda yadda yadda.)

Anyway, our son will be entering kindergarten about a year after our planned move. Our plan is to rent for a year and then buy before he starts kindergarten so he could get settled into a school and meet kids he would likley matriculate through middle school and high school with (as my husband and I did growing up.) Should we just count on the fact that if we buy a home it could eventually be rezoned for a different elementary, middle or high school though?

We were thinking of buying at the top of our budget if we could get our "forever" house, but after reading about this we're thinking we shouldn't count on being able to send him to any particular school. No idea if this would even matter (don't know much about the individual schools) but it sure seems to have some people riled up (From the articles I've read online.) Are there areas that are not likely to get rezoned?

Any thoughts?

This is what I keep reading:


...The following letter was submitted by a concerned Williamson County parent who has requested anonymity:
“In November of last year, the Williamson County School (WCS) administration proposed a rezoning plan that moved a small number of students out of the Kenrose-Woodland-Ravenwood feeder system into Centennial High School (CHS) with a majority of kids they don’t know. After extensive public outcry questioning why this group of kids, why it was proposed on the last day of Interim Schools Director Dr. David Heath’s tenure, and why a wider zoning plan wasn’t considered, the school board rejected the plan.
After spending more than $80,000 of tax payer money on an Educational Logistics, Inc. (Edulog) software package, the WCS administration appears to be back at it again. However, now they have implemented a third party software package to develop the same plan rejected last year. Why? And why haven’t they published what the inputs were to the program? Was this rigged from the beginning to give the answer they wanted, and if so, again, why? Is the Williamson County plan setting up Centennial for failure? The evidence seems compelling:
- Though CHS was designed, funded, and built as an 1800 student high school, in recent years, it has been operating with less than 1400 students
- Last year’s WCS Administration rezoning plan and both rezoning plans (Edulog’s and WCS Administration’s) this year assume capacity at CHS of 1600 students. This week the administration counted the school classrooms and lockers, and measured the cafeteria to verify that in fact, Centennial should have 1800 students.
- After building Ravenwood High School, the exodus of students from Centennial resulted in a concentrated population of minorities and financially disadvantaged kids at the school (30.3% minorities and 25.2% economically disadvantaged per TDOE 2009 Report card) with a relative lack of minority and economically disadvantaged representation at the other northern county high schools (less than half the percentages at Ravenwood High School, Brentwood High School, and Franklin High School).
- Other high schools in the county (Page and Fairview) both have smaller enrollments than Centennial, yet have higher test scores; so, clearly a small school can succeed, but not one that has become an economically disadvantaged “dumping ground”
- The plan in November of last year, the original Edulog plan last week, and Dr. Looney’s current plan all have Ravenwood minority and economically disadvantaged representation decreasing, and Centennial minority representation increasing. Is this progress?...

The entire article/letter in full:
Williamson County Setting Up Centennial High School For Failure? | Cool Springs TN
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