After Jordye Bacon Elementary School students say goodbye to their campus the end of this academic year, those not moving on to middle school will be split among six of the remaining Liberty County elementary schools next August.
The Liberty County Board of Education on Tuesday approved a new student-zoning plan that reallocates students to every school except for Liberty Elementary.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Conley presented the plan before the board Tuesday and offered some feedback received during an Oct. 18 parent meeting held at the school, which will discontinue elementary operations this year.
“For the most part, everyone seems very happy and very supportive. No one wants to leave Jordye Bacon; however, they understand that we have to make changes,” Conley said.
Comments overheard at the meeting did include one upset parent, some who thought the new zones meant that their children would attend schools closer to home and some who said it was good to know far enough in advance that they could move if needed, she said.
Because the enrollment numbers must stay within each school’s capacity, and the number of students who reside on each street varies, Conley said the task was handled each street at a time. Where possible, they tried to use existing boundaries, such as railroad tracks and main arteries.
They also made adjustments for rising sixth-graders and pre-schoolers, though Conley said the projections for incoming kindergarteners are not complete because they only account for current Pre-K Center students.
Some pockets, such as Northgate and Mission Ridge apartments, also were cleaned up. Previously, students in those complexes did not attend Waldo Pafford Elementary School despite being surrounded by the WPE zone.
With the student zoning approved, Conley said the next step is to determine where current JBE teachers and staff will be placed.

BoE handles capital matters
The Liberty County Board of Education also approved the following Tuesday:
• A $120,336 bid from Griffin Contracting for Bradwell Institute paving maintenance
• A deductive change order and closeout for the Bradwell Phase IV, Step 2 interior renovations; the final price was $13,382,074 — $517,926 less than the initial guaranteed-maximum price
• Closeout of and additive change orders for the Liberty County High School Highway 84 entrance and parking improvements, with a total project cost of $293,064. That project was up $34,841 for its initial guaranteed-maximum price.