Board votes on plans to close, consolidate Augusta schools

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Richmond County Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a master plan to close and consolidate several schools in the district, including converting Josey High School.

Nine of the board’s 10 members were present, and the plan required a majority vote to pass.

The unanimous vote came Monday night as part of a master plan to close several schools in the district.

Among the other plans the board voted on:

• New elementary school construction on Barton Chapel Elementary site and consolidation with Glenn Hills Elementary School: Barton Chapel Elementary School will temporarily close following the 2025-2026 school year for demolition and the construction of a new facility on its current site. The new school will be subject to a naming committee. During construction, most Barton Chapel Elementary School students will be combined with Glenn Hills Elementary School, with the addition of 10 portable classrooms. At the conclusion of construction, both elementary schools will transfer to the new school building, and Glenn Hills Elementary School will permanently close. Unanimously approved 9-0.
• Closure of Jenkins-White Elementary School: Jenkins-White Elementary School will close at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, with the facility to be repurposed for future district needs. Students will be rezoned to new elementary schools in the district. Unanimously approved 9-0.
• Closure of John M. Tutt Middle School: The board approved the closure of Tutt Middle School at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Tutt Middle School and Langford Middle School will consolidate into the new Langford-Tutt Middle School facility, scheduled to open for the 2026-2027 school year. Unanimously approved 9-0.
• Closure of Murphey Middle School for new College and Career Academy: The T.W. Josey Comprehensive High School and Murphey Middle School campuses will be renovated and converted into a district-wide, comprehensive high school featuring premier career, technical and agricultural education programming serving grades 9-12. At the close of the 2025-2026 school year, Murphey Middle School will close, and students will be rezoned to new middle schools. Approved 8-1.
• Boundary Adjustments: The Board approved student reassignments for all approved closures and consolidations proposed in the 2026 long-range facilities master plan. 

Timeline

Josey will temporarily close during construction. At the conclusion of construction, currently projected for fall 2029, the T.W. Josey attendance zone will be dissolved. All rising ninth- through twelfth-grade students in the Richmond County School System may apply to attend the new school.

All facility changes will take effect at the end of the 2025-2026 school year.

Community and board reaction

The board held three public listening sessions over the past month before the vote. No public comment was taken at the meeting.

Josey alumni attended to hear the outcome of the vote. Irvin White, a Josey alumni who played defensive end on the school’s first football team, brought a 1966 school newspaper and yearbook to the meeting.

“Career Academy is fine, but if they just keep Josey’s name alive. That’s what a lot of us keep fighting for, to keep Josey’s name alive,” White said.

During prior public input meetings, community members raised concerns about preserving Josey’s legacy. Some said converting the school into a career academy would eliminate traditional high school programming.

“It’s about a community. It’s about the ecosystem that was created from that. And college and career academies don’t have traditional high school programming at all. So it will be lost,” one person said.

Others spoke to Josey’s historical significance in the district.

“It was devised during a time when people who looked like me couldn’t go to various high schools across the city. So in that vein, when it started, it was helpful to Black students. As the school continued to grow, it became a haven for all students who were disadvantaged in some way, shape or form,” another person said.

Haley LaCuesta, director of media and public relations, said the board responded to community input gathered during the listening sessions.

“At the first public hearing, they received a lot of feedback, a lot of questions and concerns. And what happened was they listened, and they made adjustments to that plan,” LaCuesta said.

Board member Shontae Boyd acknowledged a trust gap between the board and the community.

“The community does not trust us. But I promise we will do what we say we are going to do,” Boyd said.

RCBOE President Shawnda Stovall said the board made adjustments based on public input.

“We are happy that after the public hearings and listening to the community in reference to how they felt about right-sizing, we were able to make some slight pivots in the plan,” Stovall said. “Overall, this plan is moving forward, and we are excited about the school system that we have in place today — but we are even more excited about the school system of the future.”

What comes next?

With the plan now approved, the district will form a naming committee for the new College and Career Academy.

Residents interested in joining the naming committee can contact the Richmond County School District.

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