Facilities panel recommends closing Hickory and Fountain Rock, creating new Downsville Pike elementary and reassigning roughly 12% of K–5 students

The Washington County Board of Education’s facility enrollment advisory committee recommended a package of 14 boundary changes that would close Hickory and Fountain Rock elementary schools and create a new school identified in the report as "Downsville Pike." The committee said the plan reassigns approximately 12.1% of the district’s projected K–5 population in 2027, with just over half of the moves tied to the two school closures.

The recommendations, which the committee voted to approve unanimously on Feb. 4, are the product of eight meetings and a review of 22 boundary options, the panel said. Committee materials explain they used two enrollment measures—K–5 enrollment and K–5 state‑rated capacity—to model outcomes and applied the 10 considerations in board policy JCA and regulation JCAR when weighing tradeoffs.

Why it matters: The committee framed the plan as proactive capacity management as the district brings a new elementary online, avoids future multi‑round overcrowding at schools such as Lincolnshshire and Jonathan Hagger, and uses capacity at newer schools like Sharpsburg. The report projects Downsville Pike would open at roughly 100% K–5 capacity, retain six pre‑K classrooms and allow administrative flex for additional seats; it would feed Springfield Middle and Williamsport High. Committee materials project Downsville Pike’s student population at 61.7% free‑and‑reduced‑price meal eligibility and 37.6% minority students, saying those figures align reasonably with county averages.

Key recommendations and effects: Recommendation 1 reassigns about 310 students from Hickory to Lincolnshshire, shifting the bulk of Hickory’s zone; another small administrative shift would move zero current students from Hickory to Williamsport to improve transportation efficiency. Several recommendations reassign students to Downsville Pike (including revised recommendation 7, which was altered since the committee’s October preliminary report to avoid overfilling Rockland Woods), while others move smaller numbers to Sharpsburg, Bestester and Pangorn to relieve pressure at MK DAB and PTOIC Heights. Recommendation 13 identifies 130 students south of West Washington Street that the committee recommends could move from Salem Avenue to the planned Jonathan Hagger addition; the committee left the implementation date to the board so the change can align with the 2028 addition schedule.

Process and next steps: The superintendent will present staff recommendations to the board at the April 21 meeting. Staff will notify impacted schools and parents and post the full report at schools and online. The board scheduled two public hearings on May 13 and May 14 at 6 p.m., with potential board votes on May 19 or June 16 depending on deliberations and whether any modifications require additional public comment under policy.

Quote: "The 205‑page report…is a reflection of that process and that work from this committee," the presenter said, noting the document contains an executive summary, methodology, discussion summaries and 14 boundary realignment recommendations.

What’s next: The board will evaluate superintendent recommendations at its April meeting, and the public hearings in May will be the primary venues for community comment before any final vote. If the board modifies a proposal substantially, policy requires an additional public comment period before adoption.