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CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. () – Students at a Chatham County school will be moved across town next year while their building is under construction, and some parents are concerned about the transition.
Thursday night, school officials at Georgetown K8 held a meeting with parents to discuss what the upcoming renovation would entail.
“This is going to be great for our community, and I’m just so honored to say it’s going to be coming our way,” District 6 School Board Representative for Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools David Bringman said.
The renovated building will include a new gym, new locker rooms, new bathrooms, safety upgrades, an updated drainage system and a new sign for the school.
During the construction, students will temporarily be moved to what the school district is calling a swing site at what used to be Largo-Tibet Elementary School.
“Just because we’re at Largo-Tibet that doesn’t mean we’re not still in Georgetown. Georgetown K8 is not the building. Georgetown K8 is the heart of the people,” Georgetown K8 Principal Kim Mole, said.
Despite those reassurances, some parents had doubts about the transition, specifically about transportation.
The Largo Tibet building is a 13-minute drive across town without any traffic.
“Right now, the school is right down the street from my house,” Christopher Bridgewater, a Georgetown K8 parent, said. “I have to be at work super early, and I don’t get off until super late. So, when everyone talks about traffic, I experience it on both ends, in the morning and afternoon. Now they’re saying they’re going to be bringing them further away to a more congested area from what I’ve experienced.”
The biggest change for many students at Georgetown will be taking the bus to school. Currently, the majority of them walk or arrive to school by car.
“Look at how nice our buildings are, our education is awesome, but they haven’t figured out the details that actually involve the safety and the overall well-being of our kids because my kid has been at the bus stop basically stranded,” Analisa Laster, another Georgetown K8 parent, said.
School officials said that the district is already working on new bus routes to get Georgetown students to Largo-Tibet.
“We’re running dry runs. If your baby and you want to hop on the bus and ride from Georgetown to your new school and hop off and hop right back on and ride back, that’s what they do to make sure all those routes are actually going to work, ” Bringman said.
Largo-Tibet is currently being renovated to accommodate students for next year.