School board advances fall 2025 targeted rezonings after staff recommendation

Orange County School Board members at a Nov. 6 rural development workshop reviewed three targeted rezoning proposals for fall 2025 and gave staff direction to move forward with the recommended alignments.

Staff presented maps, demographic breakdowns and projected enrollments for each proposal. The first proposal would shift middle-school attendance between Chain of Lakes Middle School and Carver Middle School; staff described two options and recommended Option 2, which expands a targeted area and would reassign additional students so feeder patterns align more closely. Staff said Option 2 would reduce some bus travel distances and better align the Eccleston Elementary feed into Carver Middle School. At the meeting, staff reported receiving two family responses overall for that zone (Option 1: two opposed; Option 2: one in support and one opposed). After discussion, the board provided consensus to proceed with staff's recommended Option 2.

The second targete…