Officials: Midway school proposal more cost effective

Published 7:00 am Sunday, March 8, 2026

The Baldwin County School District’s redistricting proposal will save money, help with efficiency and distribute student support services more equitably throughout the district, school officials said Monday.

One group, in particular, that will benefit will be students receiving additional language support.

Some Baldwin students are enrolled out of district because they need language support that is not offered at the school closest to them.

“We have not had enough services available for our students who are learning English,” Baldwin County Superintendent Dr. Kristina Brooks told an audience on hand for a second town hall meeting outlining the plan on Monday.

Most Spanish-speaking students are currently enrolled in the Lakeview schools, although they should be districted for Midway based on their home addresses. Some students get on the bus as early as 6 a.m. and don’t arrive at school until just before the first morning bell at 7:45 in order to get the support services they need.

Brooks said the district is working to ensure that the needed English support is available next year at every school to avoid the longer bus rides. Some teachers are undertaking additional certification this year, and the board is looking at bringing in retirees to help meet the district’s ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) needs for the coming year, she said.

“We want to make sure [those services] are available at every school,” said Brooks.

Additionally, transportation savings will be to the tune of a quarter-million dollars under the redistricting proposal, according to Deputy Superintendent Dr. Rodney Tyson.

“[Consolidating the schools] helps us to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and it helps us to prepare to align our facilities with our current enrollment trends in our district,” he said.

Tyson said that when developing the plan, school officials looked at enrollment at each of the schools and determined that the two Midway schools were not enrolled at full capacity. They determined that Midway Hills Academy, located off U.S. Highway 441 and Carl Vinson Road, could easily accommodate a K-5 school.

Midway Hills Primary currently operates at 48% capacity. Midway Hills Academy operates at 38% capacity.

Officials also looked at overall student enrollment, which in recent years has trended at a loss of about 100 students each year.

“That caused us to take a look at possibly consolidating the schools so that we can operate more efficiently,” said Tyson.

Under the proposal, Midway Hills Academy will become a K-5 school, and Midway Hills Primary, located on Blandy Road, will become the Baldwin Success Academy, a three-prong facility to house system alternative school students, students receiving therapeutic services and fifth-year seniors and select eighth-graders who need additional support.

“The Baldwin Success Academy provides an opportunity to continue using all of our schools in our district and provide a smaller learning environment for a certain group of our students that need some academic and behavioral support,” said Tyson.

The Success Academy will be capped for no more than 300 students at a time. There will be both online and in-person classes for the alternative school students, as well as an accelerated career diploma option for them to study programs through Central Georgia Technical College.

“It allows them to get two technical diplomas so that when they graduate, they can start out with a higher advancement on their job,” said Tyson.

Tyson said there are roughly 60 students in the alternative program, but the number is fluid depending the volume of disciplinary incidents in the school system. The number is not expected to increase.

Class sizes will remain the same under the redistricting plan. No teaching jobs will be eliminated, although some staff will be relocated depending on school system needs.

Transportation department staffers were also on hand Monday to answer questions about busing.

“If they attend their zoned school, transportation will be provided for all students,” said Tyson.

The plan will likely not require additional bus routes, he said, but the routes will operate more efficiently and at a cost savings.

Handouts were available Monday listing each neighborhood and area that will be impacted by the redistricting plan and where students will be relocated.

The information will also be available in both English and Spanish on the board of education website, https://www.baldwincountyschoolsga.org/. A video outlining the proposal will also be available on the website.

Should parents of students who will be redistricted want to keep their children at their current school, they can request to do so under House Bill 251, which was approved by the state legislature in 2025. The bill allows parents to transfer their children to any school within their district, provided there is space available. If their request is approved, parents will need to provide transportation. A link for requests will be added to the board of education website sometime in April. 

The board of education is expected to vote on the redistricting proposal at its next meeting. The board will meet at the BOE office, located at 110 N. ABC St., at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.  

If approved, district officials will notify families of the changes and plan to reorganize the facilities over the summer in preparation for the 2026-27 school term.