Latest proposed Howard County school redistricting plans leave one school out, again
Three new school redistricting maps are on the table, as the Howard County Board of Education is scheduled to make a final vote on a map in less than a month.
The Howard County Public School System has been fine-tuning maps for months to alleviate overcrowding at two elementary schools.
The latest maps don't even touch one of the schools that triggered this whole process.
Meanwhile, families continue to hope their neighborhood will be spared.
Breaking down the concepts
The latest proposals are dubbed concepts three, four, and five.
In all three maps, Centennial Lane Elementary School isn't touched, with school district staff just focusing on reducing numbers at Bryant Woods Elementary.
The school redistricting process, which is also known as boundary review and attendance area adjustment, started in February. Up to 11 schools are slated to be shuffled around.
Centennial Lane and Bryant Woods triggered the process, being over the 90% to 110% capacity utilization threshold.
In concepts three through five, anywhere from 81 to more than 460 students could be shuffled around.
HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes's proposal from September also didn't touch Centennial Lane, shuffling a little more than 250 elementary school students.
Two weeks ago, school district staff introduced concepts one and two, which shuffled around 600-to-700 students.
Centennial Lane is on the table in those two proposals. All five concepts, though, work to keep the concentration of poverty low at Bryant Woods.
Board member concerns
When it came time for Board of Education members' questions on Thursday, transportation cost concerns were brought up.
In one of the new proposals, three buses are added, which is a $300,000 cost.
Board member Jacky McCoy said there needs to be an analysis into transportation costs as a whole, saying, "So that as we're trying to look at these scenarios, adding one or two buses won't be stabbing me in the heart."
Board members also made several comments about the difficulty of the situation, knowing that no matter what, there could be consequences at any impacted school.
"There's a narrative that [suggests this] community is listened to, and this community is not. I just want to come up with the best plan," board member Meg Ricks said.
Cindy LaFollette, an Ellicott City HCPSS parent who's in a neighborhood poised to be redistricted, said she's feeling heard by the Board of Education.
"I really feel like they're looking, they're listening, they're paying attention to the data, and they're listening to community voices," she said. "Several board members talked about concerns from the community and that's really good to hear."
The timeline
The Board of Education will have to vote on a final redistricting plan at its Nov. 20 meeting.
Here are meetings and hearings the board will have before that happens:
- Nov. 6: public hearing
- Nov. 13: work session and straw vote
