How long will the Fort Mill School District enrollment freeze last? Here’s what to know
The recent school enrollment freezes in Fort Mill aren’t a final solution, but are designed to disrupt the fewest students until a long-term solution is reached.
Earlier this month the Fort Mill School District announced enrollment freezes at Gold Hill Elementary School, Gold Hill Middle School and Pleasant Knoll Middle School. New students enrolled at those schools will travel to other schools within the district. The decision comes amid high population growth in the areas those schools serve.
Enrollment freezes aren’t new to Fort Mill. They’ve been enacted several times due to district growth.
Four schools had freezes heading into the school year that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The district doesn’t see them as the ultimate answer to growth. But they can be a short-term fix.
“It is currently in place for the remainder of this school year and will be re evaluated during the summer,” said Joe Burke, district information officer.
Burke said the district monitors all schools for growth and capacity issues.
There aren’t any additional schools flagged for enrollment freezes right now. The district has grown overall, with population increases in Fort Mill, Tega Cay and unincorporated areas between them. Fort Mill is now the largest school district in York County, despite being the smallest geographically in the state. The district has more than 18,000 students.
Burke said freezes are preferable to more widespread change -- like redistricting -- to address the distribution of students.
“That would impact thousands of students in the district and would have to done multiple times over the course of several years,” Burke said. “The freeze option allows the district to minimize the disruption while managing the growth until new schools come online.”
For new students who are impacted by the freeze, the school day will look almost identical to other students. They just won’t attend the same school other students in their neighborhood do. The only noticeable difference is the time it takes to get to another school if they ride the bus.
“They will arrive and depart their zoned school at the same time as other students if they are using district transportation,” Burke said. “They will take a shuttle to and from their assigned school if they are using district transportation.”
While redistricting isn’t planned, one advantage to the growth and growing number of Fort Mill schools comes when each school opens. When a new elementary school opens, the district has to redraw elementary attendance lines. Same with a new middle or high school. So new schools both add capacity and allow an opportunity to tweak attendance boundaries.
“New facilities are ultimately the main solution for providing space for our growth,” Burke said.
The district is finalizing a 10-year facility needs study that will lay out new school recommendations. The district hasn’t announced new school bond plans, but work continues toward new school capacity.
There’s a county zoning change proposal up for consideration now at 278 Gold Hill Road. The district has been planning since 2016 for that 88-acre site. Submitted plans show a new elementary and new middle school there.
Until 1994, the Fort Mill district didn’t have more than one school at the primary, elementary, middle or high school level in the post segregation era. The 1992 bond that funded a second middle school was the first of nine bonds presented to the community. Today, Fort Mill has 11 elementary schools, six middle schools and three high schools.
From 2002 until the COVID-19 pandemic altered school attendance figures, Fort Mill grew 3.4%-10.32% annually. Five school years in that span, the district grew by more than 7%. Last school year, growth returned at 5.4%.
This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 11:49 AM with the headline "How long will the Fort Mill School District enrollment freeze last? Here’s what to know."
