Murray County: Murray school board passes zoning exception for new high school

CHATSWORTH, Ga. — About 170 students who live in the Spring Place community will have the option to attend Murray County’s new high school next year.

The Murray County Board of Education unanimously approved an exception Monday evening for students who live in Spring Place and currently attend Bagley Middle School, or attended Bagley last year, that allows them to attend North Murray County High School, which will open in August 2010.

“That was the (students’) understanding, and there was probably some miscommunication,” said board Chairman Greg Shoemaker. “We have struggled discussing what to do, but we feel it’s the right thing to do since this was no fault of the students or parents.”

Bagley Middle is a feeder school for the planned high school, but in 2007 the school board rezoned Spring Place for Gladden Middle School, which is a feeder school for Murray County High School, according to Dean Donehoo, director of administrative services for Murray Schools.

Mr. Shoemaker said about 170 students who will have the choice to attend North Murray County High School next year include seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders who live in the Spring Place community. Bagley Middle hosts only seventh and eighth grade.

Melissa Smith and Linda Wells are parents of ninth-graders at Murray County High school who live in Spring Place and attended Bagley last year. They said their sons and other Spring Place students will be happy to have the option to attend a brand new school.

“These kids have been together since first grade; they all grew up together and played sports together,” Mrs. Wells said. “Sports will be the next issue. They want to be together when they play sports.”

Mrs. Smith said it will be an honor for the Spring Place students to be in the first graduating class at the new high school and set the first records in athletics there.

School board member Crystal Felty said the types of extracurricular activities and sports to be available at North Murray County High School still are being pondered.