With James Blair Middle School set to open later this year, the Williamsburg-James City County School Board has chosen the neighborhoods that will attend the new school.
On Tuesday, the school board voted 6-1 to redistrict middle schools using boundaries set by map 4, with only board member Lisa Ownby voting against the map.
The map moves 454 students to different schools, and will bring each school’s utilization of space down to 87 percent or lower.
The changes will go into effect with the start of the 2018-2019 school year.
According to school board documents, 101 residents voted in favor of option 4 in an online survey. Ninety-six residents voted for option 2.
Board member Jim Kelly said he eventually chose option 4, although option 2 was a strong contender because it allowed for more growth at Toano Middle School. Both maps even out the schools’ socioeconomic status.
Board members have previously said that James City County expects more growth in the upper end of the county in the coming decades.
The selling point for option 4, Kelly said, was the proximity factor: With option 4, more students would attend the school closest to their house.
“If you live within shouting distance of a school, you should probably go to that school,” Kelly said.
Board member Sandra Young said she believes option 4 would be good for schools’ longevity, and would hopefully prevent the school division from redistricting again in upcoming years.
“I certainly don’t want the community to have to go through this again anytime soon,” Young said.
Moving forward, school administrators will work to reorganize school bus transportation routes, Superintendent Olwen Herron said Tuesday.
Families whose children will attend James Blair will also be contacted in the coming months about their child’s new school, Herron said.
View the presentation on options 2 and 4 on the WJCC website.
Use WJCC Schools’ database to see whether redistricting will affect you.
