Maxwell Sends Up Redistricting Plan Identical to Parent Panel Recommendation

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education will meet at their regular time at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7. At the meeting, the members will receive schools Superintendent Dr. Kevin Maxwell's recommendation for redistricting of , and elementary schools.

School spokesman Bob Mosier said in a media release that the proposal is "identical" to the one submitted to the superintendent's office from a panel of parents and community members that studied the options.

The panel was established shortly after the 2011-2012 school year started and consisted of two parents each from Central, Mayo and Davidsonville elementary schools. The committee met once a week in October in a public forum and at the end of October.

The purpose of the parent committee was make recommendations to reduce overcrowding at Central Elementary and more effectively use space at Davidsonville and Mayo elementary schools.

According to the release, the plan going to the Board of Education would:

• Redistrict from Central Elementary to Mayo Elementary students living along Muddy Creek Road down to and including Wolfe’s Reserve and those students living on Fiddlers Hill Road, as well as those students living east of Muddy Creek Road and south of Central Avenue as it extends to the current boundary with Mayo Elementary, including those living in River Club Estates and along Camp Letts Road.
• Redistrict from Central Elementary to Davidsonville Elementary all students living in the communities of Waterford, Annapolis Landing and Berkshire, as well as any student living along the south side of Riva Road within this proposed boundary who may not live in one of these communities.
• An optional grandfathering of rising fifth-graders (current fourth-graders) at Central Elementary.

The board will consider the recommendation and other alternatives, then decide which options to take to a public hearing in January 2012. The final plan must be adopted by April 30, 2012 to go into effect by the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. 

The public is welcome to comment on the proposal during the public session at the Board of Education meeting and during the public hearing in January.

The Board of Education meeting starts at 10 a.m. Dec. 7 at the Parham Building meeting room, 2644 Riva Rd. in Annapolis. The meeting will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV (Comcast channel 96; Verizon channel 36).

Preview: At the Dec. 21, Board of Education meeting (7 p.m. in the Parham Building), the superintendent is expected to release his proposal for the "Fiscal Year 2013 Operating and Capital Budget." This is the first step in a budget process that ends with a vote by the Anne Arundel County Council in May.

Editor's Note: Patch Local Editor Mitchelle Stephenson, the author of this story, chaired the parent committee.