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The Chambers County School Board discussed solutions for the overcrowding of two schools — Eastside-J.P. Powell Magnet School and Fairfax Elementary School — at the work session on Friday. 

Superintendent Dr. Sharon Weldon made two recommendations to address overcrowding, which the board will vote on at the next school board meeting on March 19.

The first would be to keep the rising second graders at Shawmut Elementary at the school next year, rather than sending them to Fairfax Elementary, which is the “feeder” school. Currently, students who are zoned for the Shawmut transfer to either Fairfax or Huguley for third through fifth grade.

However, since Fairfax consolidated with LaFayette-Lanier Elementary, the school currently has seven third grade classes. Retaining Shawmut’s current second grade classes for next year would free up three third grade classrooms for Fairfax. 

As for the magnet school, the campus currently holds all of LaFayette’s Kindergarten through eighth grade students on a single campus. The seventh and eighth graders utilize the band room and gym at LaFayette High School one block away. 

Weldon’s recommendation, considering the overcrowding and the large age gap currently at the magnet school, would be to move the seventh and eighth graders to an unoccupied wing of LaFayette High School. 

The school board would need to make minor cosmetic renovations to the hall before moving the seventh and eighth graders over.

Both schools were recently consolidated by the former superintendent, Dr. Casey Chambley, to address underpopulation. When LaFayette High and Valley High consolidate, the board plans to move Eastside-J.P. Powell Magnet School completely over to the LaFayette High campus. 

Weldon and the board also discussed the overcrowding in self-contained classrooms, special education classrooms where one teacher instructs all the students based on their similar needs.

The board members agreed to vote on the recommendation at next week’s usual business meeting.