Selby Back in Crosshairs for Redistricting

Board members will consider additional plans for redistricting , and elementary schools after testimony at Wednesday's Board of Education meeting.

As previously reported by Patch, the goal of the redistricting is to reduce overcrowding at Central Elementary and move students into schools with vacant seats in Davidsonville and Mayo. Note that Edgewater Elementary is in line for construction improvements and was not considered as part of any plan.

A committee made up of two parents from each school considered the options for redistricting, held public forums and provided a plan in October. Maxwell adopted a plan similar to the committee's plan last month. The committee was dissolved and no longer plays a role in the process.

Read the superintendent's plan on the Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) website.

The Board of Education has the final say in the matter, picking and choosing recommendations from the plans presented or adopting a new plan entirely. Board members questioned Chuck Yocum, schools specialist, and Alex Szachnowicz, chief operating officer, at Wednesday's meeting about a number of issues including demographic details and other data. 

Members of the public spoke for nearly an hour about the redistricting plan. Most were parents who live in the proposed path of the redistricting who asked the board for a reprieve.

At the end of the discussion, board members tasked Yocum with outlining a new set of numbers that would include:

• Moving portions of the Selby neighborhood to Mayo Elementary
• Moving different communities in Riva, which could include Sylvan Shores, South River Farms and Riva Farms 

The two new sets of numbers could be added to the superintendent's existing plan for a bigger move than previously recommended, or swapped out for the neighborhoods in the crosshairs.

The board will review the additional numbers at the next scheduled board meeting, at 7 p.m. on Jan. 18.

At that time, the board will likely set a date for a hearing and AACPS spokesman Bob Mosier said that the date will likely be sometime in March. The Board of Education has until April 30 to make a final decision on any redistricting proposals on the table.

Potential Redistricting for Crofton Schools

Because redistricting plans can include changes throughout the county, former board member Michael Leahy asked the board on Wednesday during public testimony to consider moving a new development (where no houses currently exist) from being inbound for Nantucket Elementary to Crofton Meadows Elementary in Crofton. The community under development is called the "Enclaves at Rydell Pond."

Nantucket is beyond capacity so it is a "closed" school, meaning there can be no further development in the area. However, the middle and high schools are still open, meaning that a change to Crofton Meadows (also open) would allow the builder to target any buyer for the homes, not just those who are 55 and older.

The board took Leahy's issue under advisement and will review the proposal at the next meeting. If approved, it can be added to the superintendent's plan.

Editor's note: Mitchelle Stephenson served on and chaired the parent committee.