12/19/2024
Logan County parents voice concerns over school redistricting plan
A dozen or so parents attended the first of three in-person sessions Tuesday held by the Logan County School System to gather feedback on a proposed redistricting plan aimed at addressing an overcrowded Auburn School.
The proposal, which is still under consideration, calls for 60 to 80 Auburn students to be reassigned to Adairville School, which has lower enrollment. Auburn School has a capacity of 712 students but currently enrolls 767. Adairville School has a capacity of 450 and currently enrolls 354.
Anticipated growth in the City of Auburn is also a factor for the redistricting. According to Logan County Superintendent Dan Costellow, Auburn anticipates new students each year, and that number will be growing with the new housing going up in Auburn. Currently, there are close to 100 new houses being built in the city. "Those houses will have children in them who will be going to school," said Costellow.
Tuesday's session was held at the central office. Two more sessions are scheduled: Jan. 15, 2025, at Adairville School and Jan. 16, 2025, at Auburn School, both from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The sessions are open to the public.
Costellow emphasized that the plan is not finalized and requires school board approval. A committee of principals, board members, district officials, and community representatives is currently reviewing the proposal.
Costellow's words, however, did little to assure parents in attendance at the first session whose children will be affected if the proposed "line" that has already been drawn comes to fruition.
"I am worried about how my child will transition," said one parent, who added her daughter has anxiety issues and that she is happy with how Auburn was currently handling those issues. "Right now I have a school that calls me and lets me know when something is wrong. Will I have that at Adairville?"
Another parent mentioned his preschool-aged daughter had just begun talking, and he credited the growth to Auburn School. He was worried that moving schools would give her a setback.
Costellow told parents that he understood that this transition will be hard and expressed his concern for those that this will affect but also added that this needed to be done and that change is hard. He also said it wasn't fair to the students at Auburn to be in an overcrowded school setting, saying some closets have become makeshift classrooms due to the overcrowding.
Assistant Superintendent Ben Kemplin said the idea of redistricting was something he had mentioned to previous administrations years ago, anticipating this problem; however, the idea was kicked down the road by a few previous superintendents, which got the school system to where they are now... in a "have to" situation.
"There is no easy way to make this transition," said Kemplin. "It's not fair to any child that they have to change schools; we can all agree to that, but it's also not fair they are in a building that is overcrowded, and they don't have the space that they need to grow and flourish and get the attention they should be getting because they have a classroom that's completely full and then have another group of kids with no space to put them in. That's the point we are at."
Kemplin told parents Tuesday that no one on the committee is happy about this problem they are facing but realizes something has to be done now. "It's not going to be fun for anybody, but I can say this: the good thing is in Logan County we don't have a school I wouldn't be happy to send my child to. Auburn and Adairville are really good schools," Kemplin said, adding, "At this point, we really don't have an option."
We thought about moving other lines in order to make more room because Auburn School is bursting at the seams now, and with all the building that's going on, I foresee us moving these 60 kids out and probably not being able to tell we moved them out in two years, and then we will have to shift lines again."
It was mentioned by Costellow that Chandlers is almost to capacity as well, and moving students from there to Lewisburg may be an option in the future since Lewisburg also has room.
For Dustin and Whitney Dossett, whose house is literally on the proposed redistricted line, this is not fair to their son, who is flourishing at Auburn School and will most likely have to leave to make room for those coming to live in Auburn in the future.
"Like many in our situation, we recently built our house in this location because I wanted my son to attend Auburn, just as my family and I did. It was very important to me as a parent, and equally important that he never have to change schools," said Whitney, who said during the meeting it was confirmed that this issue has been ongoing for many years and has only worsened over time. "While it’s unfortunate that no changes were made earlier, the problem didn’t arise overnight, so trying to fix it quickly—especially in a way that disrupts the lives the children have already built—is highly irresponsible. Children already have little control over what happens in their lives, and for my son, who struggles with transitions, this would be devastating. Additionally, the strain it would place on many families, due to the challenges of childcare and the distance from their new school, cannot be overstated."
During Tuesday's session, the Dossetts felt that members of the committee would not understand the ramifications of the redistricting because at the meeting it was asked if any of the parents on the committee would be personally affected by the proposed change. "None were," said Whitney, "which made the process feel one-sided, as though a decision had already been made, despite being told that suggestions were welcome."
The Dossetts said they understand the reasoning behind the proposal but hope that another solution can be found—one that would allow the children already attending Auburn to remain there. "I would encourage Logan County to consider a nickel tax to fund the building of a new middle school for Auburn," Whitney said.
According to Costellow, the Logan County School System plans are to build a new Auburn School, but this would not be something that could be done quickly. The process would take four to five years. "We don't have the bonding capacity to do this right now, but it is something we are planning to do," said Costellow.
Childcare was another issue brought to the committee's attention as a parent said she had childcare in Auburn but not in Adairville.
Out-of-district students were also mentioned by attending parents, with one saying, "It's not fair that some kids with a Russellville address are going to Auburn School." Costellow replied that the school system would be conducting an address check, the last one being three years ago, to assure those attending Auburn School were within the district.
There are also a little over a dozen current students attending Auburn as children of teachers in the Logan County School System. Allowing staff members’ children to attend schools outside their home district is a standard practice in most public schools, according to Costellow. “This policy helps retain quality teachers and staff by offering flexibility, which is something we aim to preserve,” he said.
Although Justin and Kristi Crocker understand the problem at hand, they feel there should be more of a transition plan with much more consideration to the impact on current and long-term students and parents. "People who have had families attending Auburn for decades are being pushed out for their final school years, where they are thriving, so that more people can move in from Warren County," said Justin.
Costellow thanked parents Tuesday for their input and told them the committee would be taking their points into consideration. He urged all in attendance to fill out the online survey at https://bit.ly/Redistricting25Survey. For more information and a map on the proposed boundary changes and FAQs, visit https://bit.ly/Redistricting2025.
Chris Cooper can be reached by emailing [email protected]
Due to enrollment growth in the Auburn community, Logan County Schools has an opportunity to consider options for redistricting students to Adairville School. Your input is valuable as we determine the boundaries and guidelines for this process. This is an anonymous survey, but you can choose to add...
