By Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Specialist
The Athens ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday night to change the name of Athens Intermediate School to Central Athens Elementary, effective the beginning of next school year. The change is part of the planned elementary campus realignment, which was announced in August for the 2015-2016 school year.
Bel Air and South Athens elementaries have reached capacity, while Athens Intermediate — which currently houses fourth- and fifth-grade — has room to grow. Consequently, Athens Intermediate will become an elementary campus next year, and Bel Air, South Athens and the newly named Central Athens will each house pre-K through fifth grade.
Construction — which will be paid for out of the district’s fund balance — begins soon to ready the intermediate school for the influx of additional students. Four new classrooms will be added to each of the campus’s east wings (eight new classrooms total); two restrooms will be added to the north-south hallway; and the main building and cafeteria will be connected by an enclosed hallway.
Maps will also have to be redrawn, assigning student populations to each of the three elementary campuses. The school district has software to handle the redistricting needs, which takes into account data such as economics, race and grade. Some parents have expressed a concern about children in the same household being sent to different schools, which will not happen. The plan is to announce the new campus boundary lines around spring 2015.