Members of the public will have opportunities to better understand the two Phase 1 redistricting plans under consideration by the Board of Education and provide comment on those plans at a pair of events next month.
School system staff will provide a briefing on the plans at 6 p.m. on Monday, October 2, 2023. The briefing will be held in the Board Room of the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis. It will be streamed live on the school system’s YouTube channel and on AACPS-TV on channels listed below.
The public is welcome to attend the briefing, but no public comment will be taken.
In addition, the Board will conduct a public hearing on the plans at 6 p.m. on Monday, October 16, 2023, in the Board Room of the Parham Building. Public comment will be taken both in person and virtually, and those wishing to speak can sign up through a link that will be go live at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 11, 2023.
Speakers will be allotted two minutes each. Those who require the services of an interpreter to offer comment to the Board or who need other accessibility accommodations for Board of Education meetings should call 410-222-5311 to make those arrangements.
It will also be streamed live on the school system’s YouTube channel and broadcast on AACPS-TV, which can be found on Channel 96 on Comcast and Astound, and Channel 36 on Verizon. High-definition broadcasts can be seen on Channel 996 on Comcast, Channel 496 on Astound, and Channel 1961 on Verizon.
Both proposed plans under consideration by the Board would redraw school boundaries at 48 schools, establish boundaries at two new schools, and move all schools in the county’s six northernmost clusters under 100 percent capacity.
The plans center on creating boundaries for Old Mill West High School and West County Elementary School while balancing enrollments across schools in the Chesapeake, Glen Burnie, Meade, North County, Northeast, and Old Mill clusters.
Both plans would leave 15 schools in the northern part of the county at or above 90 percent capacity. Without any redistricting, 26 schools would reach that mark, with seven operating between 100 percent and 110 percent of capacity and six others operating at more than 110 percent of capacity.
Key parts of both plans under consideration include:
- a change of schools at some point in the educational process for approximately 6,400 students (fewer than in either of the consultant-developed scenarios).
- an increase in the number of “well-utilized” and “optimally utilized” schools (between 70 percent and 100 percent of capacity) from 41 to 54.
- a decrease in the number of “over-utilized” schools (greater than 100 percent of capacity) from 13 to zero.
- changes in middle school and/or high school feeder patterns for 16 schools.
- two split articulations as students move from elementary school through high school: MacArthur Middle School students living in the Frank Hebron-Harman Elementary School and Van Bokkelen Elementary School boundary areas would attend Old Mill West High School rather than Meade High School; and Corkran Middle School students living in the Oakwood Elementary School and Woodside Elementary School boundaries would attend Old Mill High School rather than Glen Burnie High School.
- in response to feedback from the public, Freetown Elementary School students would continue to attend Marley Middle School and Glen Burnie High School.
- in Option 1, a “legacy student” provision that would provide a choice for any 12th-grade student who would otherwise be changing schools as a result of redistricting to remain at the student’s current school for their senior year of high school. Transportation would not be provided for such students.
- in Option 2, a “legacy student” provision that would provide a choice for any 11th– or 12th-grade student who would otherwise be changing schools as a result of redistricting to remain at the student’s current school for their senior year of high school. Transportation would not be provided for such students.
- continuation of enrollment and transportation services for magnet program students.
- a need for just four additional buses (inclusive of the opening of Old Mill West High School and West County Elementary School) when a plan is implemented in the 2024-2025 school year.
- no additional buses on Mountain Road in Pasadena, consistent with a study done for Anne Arundel County and the State Highway Administration that indicates concerns about safety and vehicular load.
- the examination, pending approval of the recommendation by the Board, of utilizing empty space at Chesapeake Bay Middle School for adult offices and/or storage.
The Board is scheduled to vote on adoption of a redistricting plan at its November 15, 2023, meeting. The adopted plan would go into effect in the 2024-2025 school year.
Phase 2 of the redistricting process is scheduled to begin in February 2025. It will focus on the Annapolis, Arundel, Broadneck, Crofton, Severna Park, South River, and Southern clusters.
Members of the public can view more information related to the redistricting plans here.