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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Dr. Chuck Ledbetter, the superintendent of Pelham City Schools, gave a report to the Pelham City Council during a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

The report consisted of tentative plans for Pelham City Schools to expand using 69 acres of land purchased on Aug. 4, 2023. The property is behind Pelham Racquet Club, and according to Ledbetter is planned to be the prospective home of a future high school. The tentative plans also included the creation of an intermediate school and converting the current Pelham High School facility into a middle school.

“Our tentative plan would be building a high school behind the racquet club,” Ledbetter said. “That facility would be for grades nine through 12. We would then tentatively take the high school facility up on the hill and make it into the middle school and take Pelham Park and make it into an intermediate three through five school. Then take Oaks and Ridge and make them into pre-K through two.”

The land that would house the potential high school is situated on 69 acres located near Shelby County 52 and Parkview drive just behind the Racquet Club facility.

The Pelham Board of Education closed on the property in May of 2023 after searching for a couple of years for the right location for a possible future school site due to growth rate and desire to provide students the best facilities, education and resources.

The addition of an intermediate school is also seen as a key part of the future plan.

Ledbetter also gave general updates on Pelham City Schools, beginning with its current enrollment numbers, part of the reason for the possibility of a new school.

“We’re at 3,401 (students) this year, total enrollment,” Ledbetter said. “Our biggest numbers are in middle and high school, and they’re down a little bit in elementary.”

Ledbetter also added the school system’s largest and smallest grades.

“Our largest grade is eighth grade, 323 (students),” Ledbetter said. “Our smallest grade is first grade, 234 (students).”

Ledbetter also gave the council the average class sizes per school and how many students per bus route as well. These statistics were given in an effort to assuage concerns of overcrowding in the school system.

“I wanted you to have these (stats) in your hands so if somebody ays ‘the classes are overcrowded,’ you can say ‘I have the actual numbers,’” Ledbetter said. “Having the actual numbers is pretty important to see what we’re talking about.”

Jazmine Gagner, a resident of Pelham, also took advantage of the public comments portion of the meeting by sharing her thoughts on the city’s growth and how it affects Pelham City Schools.

“The last thing I would want to see with all of the developments going up is our schools to be overburdened,” Gagner said. “I would ask that the council keep that in mind as we move forward. I love seeing the city of Pelham grow. I do not like fast-paced, high-density growth that our schools may not be able to keep up with, because the last thing we want to do is hinder our children’s ability to learn.”

No further information on the developments, including a timetable on when these projects are set to begin, is available at this time.

Ledbetter, however, did say in 2023 that construction on a new school site was projected to begin in seven to eight years.