Anne Arundel County parents concerned as school district moves forward with redistricting plans
Anne Arundel County Public Schools is moving forward with Phase 2 of its redistricting plan, aiming to balance enrollment across several schools.
But parents told WJZ they are concerned the plan could do more harm than good.
School board member Dawn Pulliam said the three scenarios the district released in February are just a baseline for the superintendent to collect feedback from the community. That feedback will inform the recommendation that will be released this summer.
According to the school district, Phase 2 aims to ease overcrowding for schools in the Annapolis, Arundel, Broadneck, Crofton, Severna Park, South River, and Southern clusters.
"It's a huge concern for my community and I understand that," said Pulliam. "For me, from February 1 to May 1, I need to learn as much from my community as possible, before the superintendent lays out a recommendation for the board of education."
AACPS has an online portal where you can view the potential scenarios and provide your input.
The superintendent also has a community meeting coming up at Southern High School on March 25 where parents and community members are encouraged to give feedback.
Read more about Phase 2 of the comprehensive redistricting plan here.
"It's a huge concern"
Jim Brewer, whose daughter is a first grader at Mayo Elementary School in Edgewater, says the school is one of the reasons his family moved to the area.
"It was really a no-brainer for us to move to the Mayo peninsula because of the schools and the great reputation that they have," Brewer said.
Brewer said he's worried all of that could change as Anne Arundel County Public Schools begin Phase 2 of the comprehensive redistricting plan. He said preliminary scenarios have his daughter moving to Central Elementary School.
"It's a huge concern in terms of uprooting community, uprooting families from teachers and a camaraderie that they're used to," Brewer said.
Ashley Duckman's son could also be moved to Central Elementary School, even though they live roughly two miles from Davidsonville Elementary.
"In that scenario, you have the footprint of 21035 zip code, the town of Davidsonville, attending four different elementary schools when they have an elementary school in town," Duckman said.
Parents told WJZ the redistricting plan needs to be discussed further before any action is taken.
"The issue is in the how, the why, the justification, and the process of how we need to get where we need to go," Duckman said.
