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Hamilton County school board to vote on East Hamilton, Harrison proposed zoning changes

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Concerned residents listen to the presentation by Chief Schools Officer Dr. Justin Robertson. The conversation about rezoning some of Hamilton County Schoolsՠattendance zones began with a meeting to discuss the East Hamilton/Ooltewah rezoning at Ooltewah Middle School Tuesday night. This is the first of three such meetings.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Concerned residents listen to the presentation by Chief Schools Officer Dr. Justin Robertson. The conversation about rezoning some of Hamilton County Schoolsՠattendance zones began with a meeting to discuss the East Hamilton/Ooltewah rezoning at Ooltewah Middle School Tuesday night. This is the first of three such meetings. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Concerned residents listen to the presentation by Chief Schools Officer Dr. Justin Robertson. The conversation about rezoning some of Hamilton County Schoolsՠattendance zones began with a meeting to discuss the East Hamilton/Ooltewah rezoning at Ooltewah Middle School Tuesday night. This is the first of three such meetings.

By Meghan Mangrum 2 min read

The Hamilton County school board is slated to vote Thursday on some of the school zone changes proposed earlier this spring, despite schools being at a standstill amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The zoning vote comes as the new East Hamilton Middle School and a new elementary school in Harrison are scheduled to open this fall.

Many of the neighborhoods that will be affected by the rezoning of East Hamilton and Ooltewah Middle and High schools were the same ones impacted in 2011 when East Hamilton School was built.

Last month, Hamilton County Schools released updated zoning plans after a round of community meetings in January.

Students who live in seven areas in the East Brainerd and Ooltewah areas of the county would be rezoned from Ooltewah Middle and Ooltewah High to the new East Hamilton Middle and East Hamilton High, including neighborhoods such as Valley View, Holly Hills, Forest Shadow Estates, and Cedar Creek, Oak Shadows, Lakes of Standifer and Shenandoah – which were not included in the original proposal.

Chief Operations Officer Justin Robertson previously told the Times Free Press that some adjustments had to be made when district officials realized that some neighborhoods were cut into two attendance zones and even one instance of a road cut right down the middle.

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING INFO

The Hamilton County school board will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 18. The meeting will be limited to school board members, essential staff and media in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations. The meeting will be available via livestream on the district’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Students who currently attend Hillcrest Elementary School and Harrison Elementary School will be moved to the new elementary school in Harrison that is now under construction. Originally, the new school was to be named Harrison Elementary School, but district officials have said there is talk of renaming the school in an effort to unite the communities.

Hillcrest Elementary will close at the end of this school year.

Proposed zoning changes for some elementary schools located downtown including Clifton Hills Elementary, Calvin Donaldson Elementary and Lookout Mountain Elementary have been put on hold until further notice.

The board will vote to approve opening enrollment at Lookout Mountain Elementary School on Thursday though.

Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.