BY KARISSA MILLER
Iredell-Statesville Schools administrators spent nearly an hour Monday night walking board members through proposed school boundary changes designed to ease current overcrowding and prepare for future growth and the opening of Weathers Creek High School in 2027.
Administrators stressed that no final decisions have been made, but warned that some redistricting is necessary as enrollment pressures continue at schools across the district.
“Redistricting is a huge, huge undertaking,” I-SS Deputy Superintendent Billie Berry told the board. “There are no perfect solutions to any of this.”
The discussion centered around four major proposals:
• Moving some students from Coddle Creek Elementary to Woodland Heights Elementary;
• Shifting some East Elementary students to Cool Spring Elementary;
• Establishing attendance boundaries for the new Parkertown Elementary; and
• Establishing boundaries for Weathers Creek High School
Berry said that the district’s goal is balancing enrollment across the district while avoiding even larger costs tied to overcrowding and future construction.
“One of the things the county commissioners asked us to do is try to equalize enrollment as best we can so that we don’t have to build a new elementary school understandably supported from tax dollars,” he explained.
Coddle Creek overcrowding
One of the most pressing issues discussed Monday involves Coddle Creek Elementary, which currently operates at 109 percent capacity.
Under the proposal, some Coddle Creek students living west of Interstate 77 would be reassigned to Woodland Heights Elementary, the only I-SS elementary school in the southern end of the county with room for growth.
Berry explained that the change would come with challenges, particularly for families participating in the school’s International Baccalaureate program.
“Some of these families moved homes in that area to be part of the IB program,” he said.
Without action, administrators said, the district will likely need to set up a six-classroom mobile unit at Coddle Creek with estimated costs ranging from $300,000 and $400,000.
“Lots of people don’t want their students taught in mobile units,” Berry said.
Acting Board Chair Doug Knight said the proposal made sense despite concerns.
“My first pass on this, in particular, I think it’s the most common-sense thing to do,” Knight said. “We will work out the IB issues. I think that’s more doable.”
Board member Mike Kubiniec questioned whether the district should consider eliminating the IB program altogether if it contributes to enrollment imbalance and financial strain.
“If the program contributes to an imbalance of student population, which it does, and it creates problems in the whole redistricting discussion, and we have financial pressures, is that something we should be entertaining?” he asked.
Superintendent Jeff James defended the choice program, saying it plays a major role in balancing enrollment between schools.
“If you put those students back and didn’t have an IB program, Lakeshore would be over capacity and South Iredell would be probably about 2,000 (students),” James said.
The superintendent added that demand for the program remains high among families in southern Iredell.
“Doing away with the IB program would not solve the problem,” James said.
New elementary school boundaries
I-SS Chief Operations Officer Mark Shinkaruk presented the proposed attendance zones for Parkertown Elementary, which is slated to open in August 2027.
The new school is expected relieve severe overcrowding at Troutman Elementary and Shepherd Elementary. Under the proposal, enrollment at Troutman Elementary would drop from roughly 120 percent capacity to 99 percent capacity once Parkertown Elementary opens.
Shinkaruk said the unusual shape of some proposed boundaries was intentional and designed to maximize relief.
“If we had made the shape a little cleaner, we would have had to reduce Lakeshore Elementary, which would have taken away the ability to relieve Troutman as much as we did,” he said.
Last week, board member Anita Kurn raised concerns during the Committee of the Whole meeting from families that gave her feedback about splitting neighborhoods and feeder patterns.
“We tried to change as few schools as possible,” Shinkaruk explained.
Weathers Creek High School
The most difficult discussion focused on attendance boundaries for Weathers Creek High School, scheduled to open in August 2027.
Berry acknowledged the proposal would impact athletics, extracurricular programs and long-standing community ties. It would create fairly evenly sized schools so that I-SS schools could compete against each other in athletics.
“This one probably presents the most challenge,” Berry said. “There are so many variables that go to a high school.”
The district’s current data show South Iredell High School currently operating at 106 percent capacity. That figure would drop to about 70 percent once Weathers Creek High opens.
Weathers Creek would open with approximately 882 students in grades 9-11 before eventually growing to more than 1,200 students.
Berry said balancing enrollment among the county’s southern high schools remains a priority.
“One of the goals here was to have three fairly evenly distributed high schools because the high schools play in the same conference” in sports, he said.
All seniors will remain at their existing schools even if boundaries change, he added.
Knight asked administrators to send board members all of the information regarding the redistricting proposals so that they have plenty of time to understand the key challenges before making a decision in a few months.