BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- Big changes could be coming to Bullitt County Public Schools, including one school closing and others redistricting.
The district released the new redistricting proposal for the 2026-27 school year.
Part of the proposal includes the closing of Nichols Elementary School.
This would cause hundreds of students to be sent to other elementary, middle and high schools due to the redistricting.
Those include Bullitt East High School, Bullitt Central High School, Eastside Middle School, Bullitt Lick Middle School, Pleasant Grove Elementary School, Roby Elementary School, Freedom Elementary School, North Bullitt High School, Hebron Middle School, Zoneton Middle School, Overdale Elementary School, Shepherdsville Elementary School and Brooks Elementary School.
Parents of current and former Nichols students were shocked and upset to hear the news.
"I feel like if they take the school out of the community and our property values will not be the same, you won't have people wanting to move into our community," said Gina Carnell, whose son went to Nichols.
Carnell said she lives near Nichols and it takes 30 minutes to get to Brooks Elementary, which is where Nichols students would have to go.
"I would think that this redistricting is going to cause them to need even more buses to be moving all these kids so much further away," Carnell said.
Another concern people have is the danger of several buses driving on Brooks Hill Road. It's a narrow windy hill that connects the two elementary schools.
"To want to send our kids over two dangerous hills from their local neighborhood, I don't understand it," said Joyce Glass, whose great-granddaughter goes to Nichols.
BCPS said the reason for realignment is to balance enrollment between schools. As for Nichols closing, the district said enrollment has decreased by 17% since 2020.
Parents said regardless, they're going to fight for the school.
"We're still really attached to the school, to the people, to our community and the last thing that we want to see is for our school not to be here," Carnell said.
Other parents are concerned about their kids being transferred from Bullitt Central to North Bullitt because of Central's agricultural program.
"Their agriculture program is one of their career pathways that the students can choose so those students, if forced to transfer to North Bullitt, have to select completely different career pathways," said Ashley Scamahorn, who's mother of students at Bullitt Lick and Bullitt Central.
BCPS will offer a grandfathering option which will allow students to stay at their current school or feeder pattern but they have to provide transportation.
The board will vote on the proposal Sept. 22.
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