The public will have its say on how to put the pieces together in a March 9 public hearing at Knox Middle School.

Board members received maps Friday outlining proposed middle and high school districts and several “pockets” of students that could be moved to new schools.

Jim Christy, schools transportation director, has been heavily involved in drawing the proposed new boundary lines.

He said the staff identified the optional areas in response to requests and concerns raised by the board and the public. Board members can consider those areas to change the plans, “or they can draw their own areas,”he said.

On Tuesday, Superintendent Dr. Joe McCann presented his proposed plan. Several board members, and many of the more than 250 parents and students present expressed doubts about McCann’s plan.

One thing’s certain: The board must create a new district to fill the new Southeast Middle School on Peeler Road. And it appears they’ll have to pull from several existing middle school districts to do that.

Under McCann’s proposed redistricting plan, 721 students from four middle schools — Erwin, China Grove, Knox and West — would be reassigned to the new school this fall.

McCann also proposes to redraw other boundaries for middle and high schools. He wants to shift students from high-growth areas in the west, south and east to schools with space or declining enrollment.

He hopes to hit a target enrollment of approximately 90 percent of each school’s capacity, providing room for growth and eliminating the need for mobile classrooms.

The plan would shift students from Corriher-Lipe to China Grove and from West to Knox. It would bolster Salisbury High School’s declining enrollment by extending the Salisbury district to the west, south and east.

In drafting the changes, McCann and school administrators tried to:

• Shuffle the fewest students possible.
• Hit the 90-percent mark.
• Decrease the time students spend riding buses to school.

For some residents who would be affected by redistricting, those intentions fall flat. And school board members had their own reasons to wonder if there should be changes to the plan.

Chairwoman Dr. Bettie Starr represents the East district, where the proposed Southeast district splits Granite Quarry. She said the schools should work to keep communities together as well as meet enrollment goals.

School board member Clyde Miller questions why the North District, where North Rowan High School’s enrollment is also decreasing, wasn’t included in the plan.

Miller said he is “very disappointed” that the proposed plan doesn’t shift students from the fast-growing West and East districts to the North District.

It should be done, he said, to give those schools room to grow and to create the teaching positions at North Rowan High School that would allow a more diverse curriculum.

“It wouldn’t be that traumatic” for students who would go to North, he said. Miller said he’ll advocate that at least three of the optional areas — two from West (A and B) and one from East (H) — be reassigned to North.

Christy said North wasn’t considered in the proposal because North High’s enrollment is close to 90 percent of its capacity. But four new classrooms nearing completion will raise capacity by nearly 100 students.

But the redistricting process has only begun, Christy said. And the original proposal is only the point where it began.

“I think it’s a good starting point, and we’ll see which way we need to go from there,” he said.