COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Lexington-Richland School District Five board has approved a plan to address increasing enrollment for elementary schools in the Chapin area.
“Students and families who will be moving into the Chapin Elementary and Lake Murray Elementary attendance zones after Jan. 22, 2019 will be reassigned to a school with available space and capacity for additional students,” Chief Planning and Administrative Officer Dr. Michael Harris said. “Last year, we implemented a freeze at Lake Murray Elementary School and that will continue as part of our effort to provide a temporary solution to growth in this area of our district.”
All students and families moving into areas impacted by the freeze will have the option of selecting a school for reassignment:
- Ballentine Elementary School
- Dutch Fork Elementary School (Academy of Environmental Sciences)
- River Springs Elementary School
- Or any of the district’s magnet schools or schools of choice (application required)
Transportation will be available to impacted families choosing either Ballentine, Dutch Fork or River Springs elementary schools.
Transportation is also provided through the district’s new Discover 5 federal magnet school grant to Nursery Road Elementary Arts Magnet, Leaphart Elementary STEAM Magnet, and H. E. Corley Elementary’s Montessori Magnet programs. Although open to choice, transportation will not be provided to Irmo Elementary School, H. E. Corley Leadership Magnet, Seven Oaks MEDIA Magnet, Oak Pointe Elementary School or Harbison West Elementary School (which houses the district’s academic magnet program for elementary school students).
The new Enrollment Freeze plan was detailed at the Jan. 14 School Board meeting.
“The number of students in the Chapin attendance area continues to increase, despite several actions the district has taken to control enrollment at the school,” Harris said. “As a school district, we vetted several options and determined that the most viable solution, in the immediate, is to implement Enrollment Freezes for these two schools.”
Enrollment at Lake Murray Elementary School has increased over the past several years, and Chapin Elementary School enrollment also increased due to the Enrollment Freeze in 2018.
To address overcrowding, the district has closed some schools to choice, placed special education self-contained programs on campuses with greater availability of space, and increased magnet offerings. In 2015, School District Five reassigned fifth graders from Chapin area elementary schools to Chapin Intermediate School, which now serves fifth and sixth graders.
The new Phase II freeze does not include families who currently reside in the Chapin Elementary School and Lake Murray Elementary School attendance area and/or those who have a valid contract of purchase document, lease agreement or rental agreement dated prior to January 22, 2019.