Several Augusta schools face closure, but nothing’s in stone yet

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A new interactive map lets parents see where their kids would go to school under a plan to close and consolidate some schools while also opening new ones in Richmond County.

Also newly posted is the draft plan, which sheds more light on which schools would be closed and why.

Parents can see the interactive school attendance map at http://tinyurl.com/3j74k4e2.

HPM consultants put together the draft plan, which parents will be able to weigh in on during a series of public input meetings starting in about two weeks.

The draft plan shows Richmond County’s population, but not due to births.

That means Richmond County School System enrollment has been falling – from 30,550 in 2014 to 28,032 in 2023.

In fact, the 2023-24 kindergarten class is the smallest one in the past 10 years, not counting the COVID period.

The consultants expect births to decline 2% each year going forward.

The consultants found 16 out of 28 Richmond County elementary schools are below the enrollment needed for minimum-program state funding, while six out of eight middle schools and four out of eight high schools are in that situation.

SEE THE FULL DRAFT PLAN:

The consultants’ draft plan through the 2026-2027 academic year calls for some school consolidations, including at the high school level; changes in areas and grade levels served by some schools; plus a new Richmond Hill Elementary and Belair Middle School; and closure of Spirit Creek Middle School, Merry Elementary, Gracewood Elementary and Jenkins White Elementary.

The high school plans get a little more complicated, and they include options for consolidating some schools and converting some buildings for other uses.

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Among those plans:

• Moving the A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School to the Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School campus.
• Moving Josey High School students into the current Murphy Middle School.
• Selective demolition of the current Josey High School to build new career-technical education space.
• Moving Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School students to the Josey/Barnes Career Center site.
• Sending students from Josey feeder schools to Laney High School.
• Sending Wheeless Road Elementary students to Richmond Hills Middle School and Butler High School instead of Josey High and Glenn Hills High.
• Demolishing the current Charles T. Walker Magnet School building and using the site for other purposes while sending those students to the Tubman Education Center.

Plans for the 2027-2028 school year offer a range of either/or options for the Richmond County Board of Education:

• Consolidating Barton Chapel, Glenn Hills, Jamestown and Meadowbrook elementaries into Barton Chapel Elementary, renovating the Glenn Hills Middle School campus and renovating the Morgan Road campus. That would include closure of Glenn Hills, Jamestown and Meadowbrook elementaries.
• Moving Glenn Hills Middle School students to the Glenn Hills High School campus, consolidating Glenn Hills High School into Hephzibah High School and moving Glenn Hills Elementary students to the Glenn Hills Middle School campus.
• Building a new elementary school at the Jamestown site, building a new elementary school at the Barton Chapel site, closing Meadowbrook facility, moving Glenn Hills middle school students to the Glenn Hills High School campus, consolidating Glenn Hills High School into Hephzibah High School, Moving Glenn Hills Elementary students to the Glenn Hills Middle School campus and closing Glenn Hills Elementary.

Nothing has actually been decided yet, and of the public can offer input at a series of meetings:

March 4 at 6 p.m. at A. Brian Merry Elementary School

• March 5 at 6 p.m. at Spirit Creek Middle and Gracewood Elementary School
• March 6 at 6 p.m. at Langford Middle and Tutt Middle School
• March 7 at 6 p.m. at Richmond Hill Elementary and Middle School
• March 11 at 6 p.m. at Belair Middle School
• March 12 at Central Office

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