The Jackson County School System is adding two new schools to the county. On Monday night, the Board of Education approved a new elementary school, as well as made some key changes to the Legacy Knoll Middle School that broke ground this past spring.
Legacy Knoll Middle School, which will be adjacent to Jackson County High School, was originally slated to host 5th and 6th graders only. On Monday, the school board officially decided to make the school a 6th-8th grade school. The school will open to students in August 2023.
They also approved plans to move forward with a new Kindergarten-5th grade elementary school, which has not yet been named. The new school will be located off Highway 332 and Skelton Road and is set to open in August 2024.
Administrators proposed the new configuration for Legacy Knoll Middle School last Thursday during a work session. School and district leadership, as well as the Parent Advisory Committee, collaborated together to propose the change. In a statement, the school board said, “District leaders believe the 6-8th grade configuration is in the best interests of the students, as it reduces the number of transitions students have in their Kindergarten through 12th grade experience with JCSS.”
They also say that the new school will also provide students with new opportunities. “With the proposal for a new middle school, district leaders also discussed the additional opportunities that will be made available to middle school students. Both middle schools will house music programs, clubs and athletic programs.”
The new middle school will help alleviate growth inside the current West Jackson Middle School Zone, which currently has over 1,500 students.
West Jackson Middle and Legacy Knoll Middle will feed into Jackson County High School. District leadership will assign a committee to establish attendance zones for elementary and middle school students on the west side. Families will be notified in December of their attendance zones.
The new proposed elementary school will help alleviate the growth at Gum Springs Elementary, North Jackson Elementary and West Jackson Elementary. Attendance lines will be drawn for the elementary schools to populate the proposed new facility.
The proposed elementary school will be funded by Special Purpose Location Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), Capital Outlay funding and the General Fund.
