UNION COUNTY, N.C. — The Union County School Board passed a motion Tuesday night to begin developing a student realignment plan that aims to assign kids to their neighborhood school. This proposal would essentially reverse the controversial redistricting the school board approved in 2014.
School board member Gary Sides told Channel 9 his plan would not only reverse the redistricting to allow kids to go to schools closest to their home, but would allow families who want to stay in their current schools, to be grandfathered in.
"This plan will be based on the neighborhood school concept," Sides said.
Channel 9 has covered the controversy over UCPS’ redistricting for years.
The motion passed doesn’t mean this is a done deal.
District staff will start putting the process together and look into how this plan would impact bus transportation and other issues. Sides hopes to create a citizens advisory board and bring in the help of outside sources to help advise and execute the realignment plan, including parents.
The plan will be brought back to the school board for a vote. Sides said he hopes the vote will be in time for the upcoming school year, but at Tuesday night’s board meeting, board members said they didn’t have a timeline established yet.
He said the biggest challenge will be transportation, but believes in the long run the move will save the district money.
"I think we'll save money on fuel, I think we'll save time and parents aggravation," Sides said.
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