BIBB COUNTY, Ga. — There could be fewer Bibb County Schools next year.
The district's School Consolidation Steering Committee is in phase two of deciding which schools could close ahead of the 2025 school year.
Cyndey Busbee is a parent who said she joined the Steering Committee to give back.
“To me, what's important is my kids got a great education in the Bibb system, and I think this committee is charged with making sure the next generation of kids get a great experience,” she said. “I'm concerned about making sure we use the right information to make the decisions."
She said she believes the district's data will lead the committee to the right decision for everyone.
"At this point really, the committee is only looking at data,” Busbee said. “They really want to stress that participants should not come in with any preconceived ideas about schools."
But this week, people can bring their personal ideas to the School Consolidation Town Hall. Bibb County Deputy Superintendent Katika Lovett said the Consolidation Steering Committee hasn’t narrowed down which schools could consolidate.
“It's very early to tell,” she said. “I will say that it is very early. One of the things that we look at that is critically important again, is going to be building utilization. As we look at building utilization compared to student enrollment, we do see some opportunities where we can have some of those conversations.”
Lovett said the first two Steering Committee meetings looked at school enrollment data, new neighborhood developments and the ages of school buildings. She said the district wants to make sure schools meet Georgia’s standard for the number of students enrolled. Schools with enrollment numbers below the state standard risk receiving less funding.
"Over the past five years, we have seen some enrollment decline, we've seen that number start to move up,” Lovett said. “But if you look at that enrollment compared to our buildings, you do see that we have some smaller schools, some of our more neighborhood schools that do have that smaller enrollment compared to the building overall in terms of the size of the building."
Lovett said the committee plans to submit a proposal to the school board in March. The Consolidation Town Hall meeting, which is open to the community, is this Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. It will be at the district's professional learning center on Riverside Drive.
Lovett said attendees will participate in group discussions about district topics involved in the decision. That includes transportation, school culture and how you'd feel if your child attends a school with more students.
There will be another school consolidation town hall on Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. You can join that virtual meeting option here.