Local Board of Education Approves Reassignment Plan
By Tara Higgerson

One in five students in Orange County Schools will be attending a different school next year because of the opening of the new Gravelly Hill Middle School. The Orange County Board of Education approved a student reassignment plan Monday night. Students and several concerned parents pleaded for the board to delay the vote, saying they didn’t have enough time to review the reassignment maps which officials altered last week.

Stephanie Townsend’s ninth-grader won’t be affected by the change, but his friends will. She’s not happy.

“Being a freshman is hard,” Townsend said. “They finally know where the classes are. They finally know their teachers. They finally know the principle, and they’re just going to yank them out.”

Board member Al Hartkopf cast the only “no” vote.