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'Best for the community': Houston County Board of Education votes to close Lindsey Elementary School

It's one of three redistricting projects. This fall, 243 Lindsey students will be reassigned to new schools.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Some changes are coming to a few Houston County schools, including the closing of Lindsey Elementary School.

We went to Warner Robins to see how this will affect students and families and also find out what lies ahead for the Lindsey Elementary Building.

Last week, the Houston County School Board unanimously voted to close Lindsey Elementary School after this school year.

Four of Volivia Peebles's children attend Lindsey.

"Just about all the teachers and the staff have been knowing my kids, because they have been going here for so long. They've been nothing but supportive. If anything went wrong inside or outside of the school, the principal doesn't hesitate to call me or one of the teachers calls me. That's something they don't have to do, but they do. They love all their students dearly, and I am going to miss that," Peebles said.

She says she has "mixed emotions" about her kids getting moved to Westside Elementary.

Peebles said, "I don't know how his transition is going to be with the new teacher, because he is used to the teachers he has now."

Her son Jacari said he likes being a second-grader at Lindsey.

Jacari said, "I thought I was going to be with a different teacher, and I am going to miss my friends."

According to Deputy Superintendent Richard Rogers, they need to redistrict because population is shifting more to the southern part of the county. He says there are fewer students now living in the neighborhoods around Lindsey.

Rogers said, "The entire rezoning was the best for the community and the students. It was important that we keep every school a good size for the success of the children and the school district."

This fall, 243 Lindsey students will be reassigned to new schools. 96 students will go to Northside Elementary, 70 will go to Parkwood Elementary, six will go to Westside Elementary. 

"We held a meeting last month where principals at the new schools met with the parents, so they got a chance to meet them and ask questions," Rogers said.

Peebles also said, "It's just the transition, because I don't know how well they are going to adapt going to another school, but I think it is great they are going to have a community center, so it can be a resource for students all through Houston County."

Later this year, the school district will be making the building a Student Support Center. It'll be a space for early learning resources, mental health services, and literacy support.

The district also approved two other redistricting projects.

Some students going to Westside Elementary School will be rezoned to C.B. Watson Primary School and Pearl Stephens Elementary, so "they can attend school with their friends at Warner Robins High School and Huntington Middle School," said Rogers.

In addition, some Thompson middle-schoolers will now go to Northside Middle School and vice versa.

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