The addition of a new elementary school in the fall of 2026 is forcing Madison City Schools to redraw district lines.
The school system is currently seeking public input on three options. It is conducting a survey through June 20.
“None of these are final,” Superintendent Ed Nichols said on a video provided by the district. “We’re asking for your feedback.”
The lines will change with the opening of Russell Branch Elementary School, located off of Hardiman Road in the Limestone County portion of Madison city.
“The need for this school is, of course, because of the growth we’ve seen in our community both on the west and the northwest, as well as sections on the east side of town, and in the Triana area,” Nichols said.
Nichols said parents, teachers and principals and other members of the district’s stakeholder group met to begin the process of looking at this rezoning.
“We also enlisted the outside consultant HPM, who has experience across the nation helping school districts rezone,” he said.
Although the main focus will be on the elementary schools, Nichols said there will also be some changes to the middle school and high school district lines. With the opening of the new school, the district will have 15 school campuses, including three middle schools, two high schools, alternative school, and a stand-alone PreK school.
Nichols said the school district has “always maintained equalization across our schools.”
“That is the rule first and foremost,” he said. “We have schools that are balanced all across the district. It’s never easy to change locations, but the good news is wherever you go in our community, you’re going to get one of the top performing schools in this state.”
A second online survey will be held later at a later date, followed by a community meeting.
“We will then go back, just like we did a few years ago, and make changes to see what we can do to balance them (the district lines) out in a better way.”
A recommendation will then be made to the school board.
Niche.com ranks Madison City Schools as the second-best school district in the state according to its latest rankings.
The survey can be found here: Madison City School District – Boundary Realignment Survey.