Paulding County staff recommend 'Plan Blue' to ease elementary overcrowding; board to vote later this month

District operational planning coordinator David Ponders recommended “Plan Blue” as the district’s preferred elementary boundary realignment on a presentation to the Paulding County School Board.

Ponders said the proposal follows a 2022 capacity study and recent construction projects, including additions at Burnt Hickory and the fall 2025 openings at Roberts and Northside elementary schools and the forthcoming Crossroads Elementary. He told the board the district collected community feedback through three engagement events and an online comment portal and received 191 electronic responses.

“We are proposing to the board that Plan Blue would be the plan that we move forward with,” Ponders said, noting that Plan Blue was the most favored of three options the district published. He summarized district modeling showing Plan Blue would move “a little over 14 average students” compared with “over 1,700” under Plan Green and about “1,600” under Plan Yellow, and said Plan Blue meets capacity targets while minimizing student displacement.

Under the proposed timeline, the board will vote on the recommendation at its second meeting later this month. If approved, the district will immediately open a regulated “request to remain” process for rising grade students affected by the change; families who are approved would be responsible for their own transportation, and siblings of approved students would receive preference during school-choice slot allocation.

Ponders said detailed, street-level maps and all submitted comments have been posted on the district’s “Planning for the Future” webpage since Nov. 19. The presentation emphasized adherence to district guiding criteria, including minimizing the number of students moved and preserving program capacity.

Next steps: the board will consider the recommendation in a standalone vote (not on consent) at the board’s second meeting this month; if approved, the district will process requests to remain and then open school-choice applications for remaining seats. The district did not take a final vote during this meeting.