District proposals target overcrowding at some county high schools

At two of the Beaufort County School District's four high schools, students have been moved to mobile classrooms and teachers sometimes have to share rooms. The other two high schools have extra space, school officials say.

The Board of Education received a series of proposals last week on redrawing attendance lines to better balance enrollment among those schools and accommodate the Whale Branch Early College High School, opening in Seabrook next fall.

The proposed changes could affect more than 550 students, based on current enrollment for grades eight through 11, according to a report to the board. Superintendent Valerie Truesdale said public information sessions would be held before the board votes on any changes.

Beaufort High School is 135 students over its official capacity, according to district enrollment numbers. Bluffton High is 94 students over capacity. Enrollment at both schools is projected to grow next year.

Both Battery Creek and Hilton Head Island high schools are below capacity -- Battery Creek by 288 students and Hilton Head by 198.

Dan Durbin, principal of Beaufort High, and Bob Anderson, principal of Bluffton High, both say something must be done to alleviate crowding.

Durbin said this is especially necessary to keep space available for academic programs that sometimes take up more space than the official capacity recognizes. Although Beaufort High's official capacity is nearly 1,600, its "program capacity" -- the number of students it can accommodate based on the programs it offers -- drops to 1,390, Durbin said. A robotics lab, for example, occupies what used to be two classrooms.

Anderson said mobile classrooms are a temporary solution that don't add space to other facilities all students use, such as the cafeteria and gymnasium.

"We are currently over capacity, and we are looking to go even further over capacity next year," Anderson said. "... Ultimately, it's very prudent for the district to begin a discussion at this point to try to balance out the high schools."

Three options presented to the school board to balance enrollment include combinations of the following changes:

A. Assigning students on the Laurel Bay military base and surrounding neighborhoods who attend Battery Creek to the new Whale Branch Early College High School. Neighborhoods would include Irongate, Pinewood, Capehart and Ramblin Acres.

• Number of students affected: 100

• Distance to Battery Creek: 5.5 miles

• Distance to Whale Branch: 7.7 miles

B. Assigning the entire Beaufort Elementary attendance area to Battery Creek. Some of the Beaufort Elementary attendance area is now zoned for Beaufort High. The rest attend Battery Creek.

• Number of students affected: 178

• Distance to Beaufort High: 2.5 miles

• Distance to Battery Creek: 4.5 miles

C. Assigning students in the Port Royal Elementary attendance area from Beaufort High to Battery Creek.

• Number of students affected: 124

• Distance to Beaufort High: 4 miles

• Distance to Battery Creek: 8.3 miles

D. Extending the Battery Creek attendance zone south of the Broad River to the intersection of S.C. 170 and S.C. 462 near the Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence. Students who attend Bluffton High would move to Battery Creek. Neighborhoods include the Camp St. Mary Road area, Bailey's Circle, Callawassie Island, Spring Island, Chelsea and Chechessee areas.

• Number of students affected: 40

• Distance to Bluffton High: 11.2 miles

• Distance to Battery Creek: 11.8 miles

E. Assigning students in some Bluffton neighborhoods to Hilton Head Island High from Bluffton High. Those neighborhoods include the Colleton River Plantation; Sawmill Creek Road area, including Victoria Bluff and Hickory Lane; and the Malphrus Road area, including Heritage Lakes, Olde Town Village and Pine Forest.

• Number of students affected: 115

• Distance to Bluffton High: 6.4 miles

• Distance to Hilton Head High: 6.7 miles