Edgewater Parents Protest School Renovation, Redistricting Plan

EDGEWATER, MD — A move to renovate Edgewater Elementary School rather than build a new school, coupled with a plan to consider redistricting, which could send Edgewater students to school in Annapolis, has sparked outrage in the community.

Signs reading “Edgewater Kids in Edgewater Schools" have popped up in the area, shared by parents who tried to fight redistricting by removing five members of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education, an effort that failed in Tuesday’s election.

School districts often redraw school boundaries to ease overcrowding at one building and shift students to buildings that can handle more children.

Last month’s 6-2 vote by school board members to revitalize the elementary school prompted passionate Edgewater parents to walk out of the meeting in a show of frustration. They had waited outside the meeting site earlier in the day with signs to drive home their point.

Last month, schools Superintendent George Arlotto notified Edgewater families north of the South River that they are a part of a study of redistricting along with the Annapolis feeder system. The families affected by the study are assigned to Edgewater and Central Elementary Schools, Central Middle and South River High schools.

“The families in the Route 2 corridor have deep roots in the Edgewater Community,” wrote Edgewater resident and Edgewater Elementary parent Lane Dickson in a Tumblr post. “In the coming days, we will fight to ensure board members who may not be familiar with Edgewater understand redistricting’s negative impacts to our children and to our community.”

Superintendent Arlotto said a committee of two representatives from every impacted school will be formed to make a recommendation to him in early 2017. The schedule for meetings has not been set.

Board members Tom Frank, Julie Hummer, Terry Gilleland, Maria Sasso and Eric Grannon were all appointed to the board by Gov. Larry Hogan and were on the ballot Tuesday for a confirmation vote. All five board members retained their seats, receiving more than 70 percent "yes" votes, according to the unofficial election returns.

»Photo of Edgewater Elementary School, courtesy of AACPS