Two new schools are on the way in Bryan County, and the Board of Education is seeking public input in deciding what will best suit the county’s needs.
In a survey on the Bryan County BoE’s website, the school system asks for the community input for the name of a new elementary school slated for South Bryan, while also asking for input on the type of elementary school to be built in North Bryan.
The survey for the elementary school in South Bryan, which would be K-5, asks the community to choose between two names: Hardwick Elementary School or McAllister Elementary School. The school will be located off of Veterans Memorial Parkway near the entrance of DeVaul Henderson Park.
The survey regarding the future North Bryan school asks what grades the community would like to see included in the school and if two current schools should be combined.
For the South Bryan school, the two names the board has selected are rooted in geographical location and historical events of the South Bryan community, according to the survey. School system policy requires that any new school in Bryan County be named for the geographical location, a deceased person or historical events.
The idea behind Hardwick Elementary School came from the town of Hardwick, which was established in 1755 in Bryan County and was the county seat from 1793-1797. The survey says Gov. John Reynolds was pleased with the natural advantages of the Ogeechee River, so he selected a bluff along the river to create a town, which was named after a relative from England, Earl of Hardwicke.
The name McAllister Elementary School stems from Fort McAllister’s role in the defense of Savannah during the Union Navy blockade of the Georgia coast. The fort was built in 1861 at Genesis Point on the plantation of Lt. Col. Joseph Longworth McAllister, for whom it was named.
Also included in the survey is an open comment section for the community to offer suggestions of other possible names.
To participate in the survey to help identify a name for the new elementary school, visit the Bryan County BoE’s website, or visit http://svy.mk/141pZYw.
The BoE also is seeking input from the community regarding the grades that would be housed in the new elementary school slated for North Bryan.
The survey asks the community’s thoughts about combing Lanier Primary School — a 32-year-old building that houses grades K-2 — with Bryan County Elementary School, which houses grades 3-5.
According to the survey, the school system’s special purpose local option sales tax dollars will be used to build the previously mentioned elementary school in South Bryan for 1,000 students and a replacement for Bryan County Elementary for 600 students in Pembroke.
The survey notes that funding to renovate LPS would not be available until 2019 or later. However, funds from SPLOST could be available now to combine the two schools and add additional classrooms to accommodate all of the elementary school population. A combined North Bryan elementary school would be built for 1,000 students, with anticipated enrollment of 900 by 2015, according to the survey.
The site for the new school is on 36 acres behind Bryan County Middle and Bryan County High schools on Payne Drive in Pembroke.
To participate in the survey to determine whether the two elementary schools should be combined, visit the Bryan County BoE’s website, or visit http://svy.mk/12QwcEk.