Here’s who will attend the Midlands’ newest elementary school
Chapin’s youngest students now know where they will be headed for school next year.
On Monday, the Lexington-Richland 5 school board approved the attendance lines for Piney Woods Elementary School, a new school on Amicks Ferry Road opening in the fall.
Elementary school-age youngsters will attend Piney Woods if they live between Chapin Road and Lake Murray, roughly to the west of Murray Lindler Road. Those children now attend Chapin Elementary School.
Board members approved the change over an alternate proposal that would have moved the attendance area north to Interstate 26, including the whole town of Chapin.
Parents can see which school zone they fall into on the interactive zoning map on the school district’s website, under Scenario 5.
The second scenario would have included a better attendance balance between Piney Woods and the Chapin area’s other two elementary schools, Chapin and Lake Murray, consultants with Milone & MacBroom told the school board on Monday.
But the board opted for a smaller footprint for the new school, potentially minimizing the number of students who have to switch schools from the Chapin Elementary attendance area. Under the plan, Lake Murray Elementary students who live in Lexington County will shift to Chapin Elementary.
Planners project the new school will draw an initial 430 students in pre-K through fourth grade, with the possible addition of about 70 more if fifth grade classes are added to the school at a later date.
Fifth graders in the area currently attend Chapin Intermediate.
The need for a new school is underlined by rising enrollment in the district. Chapin has seen steady growth in recent years because of its proximity to both Lake Murray and Interstate 26. In 2019, the Lexington-Richland 5 school board put a temporary freeze on enrollment at both Chapin Elementary and Lake Murray Elementary because of concerns about overcrowding.
As of 2019, there were 1,210 students in the kindergarten through fourth grade age range in the Lake Murray attendance area, and another 676 in the Chapin Elementary zone. If fifth graders are included, the totals rise to 1,471 and 816.
Under the proposal approved Monday, attendance would be an estimated 830 at Chapin Elementary, and 750 at Lake Murray Elementary.
School board members postponed a decision on rezoning all of Lexington-Richland 5 at a meeting earlier this month, instead opting to focus on getting the lines drawn for Piney Woods in the new school year.
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