Protest In Bel Air Sparked By School Redistricting Proposal

BEL AIR, MD — Dozens of families chanted: "We love our schools" outside the Harford County Board of Education building Monday night in Bel Air.

While they love their schools and want to keep their neighborhoods together, they said they were not proponents of the school system's plan to redraw boundaries.

Harford County Public Schools (HCPS) is reviewing its school district boundaries because some schools are overcrowded while others are underused, according to HCPS.

Children and parents held signs on Hickory Avenue that said things like: "I am not a number" and "Our children's mental health matters."

Two groups were present, those from Havre de Grace and Ring Factory Elementary School.

"We are listening, we are paying attention to what you're saying," Rachel Gauthier, vice president of the Harford County Board of Education, said at Monday night's school board meeting.

"At the end of the day, we are looking for what is best for our kids and what is best for this county, in terms of growth, because we are continuing to grow. And we are continuing to build," Gauthier said. "This is a long overdue process. We're not going to make everybody happy....We will do the very best we can to make it the least disruptive that we can."

Because there were so many people slated to speak at Monday night's school board meeting — which was held virtually — officials said they allotted two hours for public comment. Each person was given two minutes to comment.

Listen to the HCPS board meeting.

The redistricting process will continue through the fall, when the superintendent will present a proposal to the Harford County Board of Education. Then the school board will engage the public through February before making a decision, according to the HCPS page on balancing enrollment. Officials anticipate any boundary changes would take effect for the 2022–2023 school year.

This is a developing story.