New Belair Middle School Still Not Ready For Students
The new Belair Middle School off Wrightsboro Road in Richmond County is still under construction, despite an original goal of having it ready for students when the new school year began in August.
School district officials confirmed in July that the new school would not be ready in time and announced that students zoned for the new Belair Middle would be attending classes temporarily at the former Langford Middle School building on Walton Way.
Construction on the new school, which will be able to accommodate up to 1,000 students, began in December of 2022. The student body will be made up of students who attended Bel Air K-8, Copeland Elementary, Langford Middle and rising 6th graders from Sue Reynolds Elementary.
New Belair Middle School Students Will Stay at Lanford for Now
Richmond County School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Bradshaw had announced in mid-September that a tentative date for students to begin classes in the new building would be October 21. Needless to say, that didn’t happen today.
An email to parents and students recently posted on the Belair Middle School website says:
“Unfortunately, due to some final construction delays caused by Hurricane Helene, we will not transition to the new Belair Middle School building on October 21. Fortunately, the new building did not suffer any major damage, and construction is very nearly finished.”
School officials also said there is no new move-in date at this time, but added that parents will be given plenty of notice to allow time to prepare students to transition to the new facility.
The latest updates on the new Belair Middle School can be found at www.rcboe.org/bmsupdates.
Families will get at least two weeks’ notice of a move-in date with an opportunity to attend an Open House of the new facility.
Belair Middle Part of the School District’s Rightsizing Plan
The Richmond County School System’s rightsizing plan included closing some schools, building new ones and moving some students within the school system.
The plan called for the Belair K-8 building to become Belair Elementary School. Richmond Hill K-8 would become Richmond Hill Elementary School, and the current site will become Richmond Hill Middle School.
Spirit Creek Middle and A. Brian Merry Elementary were closed at the end of the last school year. Those students now attend Lake Forest Hills and Warren Road.
A new Langford Middle School is under construction. For now, those students will attend Tutt Middle.
