The Board Brief

The Budget Brief is an extension of the Board Brief newsletter, a summary of the information presented and actions taken at Bibb County Board of Education meetings for the Bibb County School District in Macon, Ga. The Budget Brief is intended to provide background information for staff, parents, and community members as the District prepares the Budget for Fiscal Year 2027, also identified as the 2026-2027 school year.

• Board members met with consultant HPM Leadership to review school boundaries and facility utilization.
• HPM Leadership will assist the District in analyzing data, engaging with stakeholders, and developing recommendations that may or may not include rezoning. Recommendations will be developed based on the data and information gathered.
• This engagement with HPM Leadership is one of two next steps identified last April in the Board and District's work to make the best financial and operational decisions for the District's future. Those next steps identified included 1) reviewing the possibility of redistricting and rezoning and 2) reviewing operational efficiency.
• The next meeting is scheduled for March 12.

Board members met March 4, 2026, to review a presentation by HPM Leadership. The Bibb County School District engaged HPM Leadership, a firm with expertise in demographic analysis and boundary planning, to assist with examining current boundaries and modeling potential adjustments.

This presentation comes as part of the next steps discussed in April 2025 after a yearlong school consolidation review. That process involved extensive data analysis, community engagement, and scenario modeling to better understand how enrollment trends, facility utilization, and long-term sustainability may impact Bibb County School District.

"Last April as we wrapped up the yearlong comprehensive school consolidation review process, we did state to the community that we would continue next steps of reviewing operational efficiency and assessing rezoning or redistricting. This is the District following up on those steps," said Dr. Katika Lovett, Deputy Superintendent.

"One of the key outcomes of that work was a recommendation that, rather than immediately pursuing school closures, the district should explore districtwide rezoning as a strategic alternative. The goal is to better balance enrollment across schools, improve building utilization, and ensure equitable access to programs and services while preserving school communities whenever possible," Dr. Lovett said.

Several key factors are informing this work:

• Enrollment trends in Bibb County Schools show a gradual decline, with projections indicating continued decreases over the next decade.
• At the elementary level, we currently have significant excess capacity, with more than 2,600 empty seats across our schools.
• Additionally, 9 of our 19 elementary schools are below the 450-student threshold that allows schools to receive optimal state program funding.

"These realities require us to thoughtfully consider how our attendance boundaries align with both current enrollment patterns and the long-term needs of our district," Dr. Lovett said. "Today's session is intended to inform the Board and begin a deeper discussion. No decisions are being made this evening. Instead, this is an opportunity for you to review the data, understand the tools used in boundary planning, and begin considering potential scenarios and questions that may guide future work."

Following Dr. Lovett's introduction, Matt Sachs and Scott Leopold with HPM Leadership provided a brief introduction of their organization, and reviewed demographic data, planning assumptions, and preliminary boundary scenarios that have been developed for discussion. Click here to view the presentation by HPM Leadership.

Bibb enrollment background:

• PK-12 enrollment in Bibb County Schools has declined from 21,410 in 2020-21 to 20,766 in 2025-26, a decrease of 644 students, or 3%.
• Prior to the 2025-26 school year, enrollment had been stable, increasing by 231 students from 2021-22 to 2024-25.
• Total enrollment is projected to decline from 20,766 in the current 2025-26 school year to 19,846 over the next 10 years. This is a decline of 920 students, or 4.4%.
• Elementary enrollment is projected to remain stable, declining by 124 students at its low point.

A review of overall elementary school utilization:

• Currently, there is 77.6% overall utilization at the 19 zoned elementary schools. (Alexander II Magnet and Vineville Academy of the Arts were excluded from the initial review because both schools are magnet-only and do not have attendance zones. Schools like Burdell-Hunt Magnet, Heard Elementary, Miller Middle, and Central High are both magnet schools and schools with defined attendance zones.)
• There are more than 2,600 empty seats in 19 zoned elementary schools.
• Nine of 19 schools have enrollment below 450 (the minimum to earn programmatic state funding).

Here are charts explaining how elementary schools earn state funding for staff and programs based on student enrollment 1) Less Than 450 and 2) Greater than 450.

"What we're doing in terms of looking at redistricting results so that we can get that finalized and formalized," Dr. Lovett said following the presentation. "The next steps are for us to actually engage with the community, similar to what we did with the school consolidation process. We did make a commitment that we would take a similar approach ... so that individuals can give us feedback, and we can hear from our community, in terms of the direction that we're heading."

"Once we've completed that work, we anticipate getting back in front of the Board with a set of final recommendations for the Board to help in terms of taking action at that time" Dr. Lovett said. "But the goal now is to get the information into the hands of our stakeholders, have some further dialogue, take some additional time to look at additional data that comes in, and hopefully get a recommendation back to you."

The Bibb County Board of Education will meet throughout the spring to review updates in the development of the District's Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Budget.

• March 12 at 5 p.m. - Budget Work Session #1 at 484 Mulberry Street, fourth floor Board Room, Macon
• March 27 - Board Retreat at 484 Mulberry Street, fourth floor Board Room, Macon
• April 7 at 4 p.m. - Budget Work Session of Finance Committee at 484 Mulberry Street, fourth floor Board Room, Macon
• April 9 at 5 p.m. - Budget Work Session #2 at the PLC, 2003 Riverside Drive, Macon
• April 23 at 4 p.m. - Budget Work Session of Finance Committee at 484 Mulberry Street, fourth floor Board Room, Macon
• May 4 at 5 p.m. - Budget Work Session #3 at the PLC, 2003 Riverside Drive, Macon

• To review meeting agendas, District policies, Board member contact information and more on Simbli, visit https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Index.aspx?S=4013.
• To review previous Board Brief newsletters, visit https://www.bcsdk12.net/departments/communications/the-board-brief-boe-newsletter.

Bibb County Board of Education members met with Superintendent Dr. Dan A. Sims and CFO Eric Bush in a work session on Feb. 10, 2026, to review FY27 budget priorities ahead of spring work sessions and called meetings. To read the Brief, click here.

The following Board Members were present at this meeting:

Mr. Daryl J. Morton, At-Large, Post 7 - President

Dr. Sundra M. Woodford, District 5 - Vice President

Mrs. Kristin C. Hanlon, District 3 - Treasurer

Ms. Myrtice C. Johnson, District 1

Dr. Henry C. Ficklin, District 2

Mr. Barney T. Hester, District 4

Dr. Lisa W. Garrett-Boyd, At-Large, Post 8

Not present:

Mr. James M. Freeman, District 6

To learn more about Bibb County Board of Education members, click here.