More issues arise as Seminole Co. works to rezone elementary schools

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — School leaders in Seminole County could be starting from scratch when it comes to redrawing attendance lines for elementary schools.

The district was halfway through the massive process, but parents made it clear they don't want their neighborhoods divided, and now the school board may agree.

Christine Hanlon Noorlander and her daughter, Jules, know just about everyone inside their Live Oak Reserve subdivision, mainly because all the children go to the same school.

"It's a community of children, and it's based on our community and the school," said Noorlander.

But under proposed rezoning, children in her neighborhood would be split up into two, possibly three different schools, which has some parents fuming.

Concerns over divided neighborhoods from all over the county have flooded into school board headquarters. Now, board members have asked staff to come up with a countywide map of subdivisions, and they could use that map to determine the new school zones.

One proposal, for example, splits an Oviedo neighborhood right down the street. Students who live on one side, would go to the community school while children who live on the other side would go to a school in a different neighborhood.

Three months of work have gone into the handful of maps under consideration, but board members have scheduled another set of meetings on the issue.

The delay also means some parents might not find out where their children will go to school until late April, possibly even May.

The superintendent and board members declined Channel 9's request for an interview on Thursday. The next round of rezoning meetings are scheduled for next week.

WFTV