Alexandria officials are considering a redistricting plan that would send students to schools farther from homes, as packed city classrooms brace for a surge of new students.
“We’re talking about having [capacity] caps on schools, caps on grades — not more than so many persons per classroom,” said School Board member Ronnie Campbell, outlining the city’s “Modified Open Enrollment” program.
Under the proposed program, roughly 80 students who would started at Samuel Tucker Elementary in the fall would be “redirected” to other Alexandria schools to prevent overcrowding in Alexandria classrooms.
“It’s an odd policy in that it would potentially take a kid who moves in across the street from an elementary school and bus him somewhere else,” said Ann O’Hanlon, PTA president at George Mason Elementary.
O’Hanlon said the program oversteps its bounds and worries that it would lead to an ever-shifting student population and an unstable learning environment.
Other Alexandria parents voiced support for the program.
“I’m looking at smaller class sizes for my child, which makes me very happy,” said Julie Goodale, a mother of two Alexandria students and PTA president at Polk Elementary.
Goodale said the influx of new students requires a response from school officials, though she acknowledged that the program would be difficult for parents whose children have to travel farther to get to class.
Amy Carlini, a spokeswoman for Alexandria’s public schools, said enrollment for the coming year was estimated at just over 12,000 students — a 30-year high for the city.
“We’ve grown 13 percent in three years,” she said.
She said the proposed program would reroute only new students entering the school system, and would not separate children from their older siblings.
City Council member Kerry Donley called the plan a “creative solution” to the school’s capacity issues, which he said were partly the result of the economic downturn.
“Because of the economy, many people that might have looked at private schools or relocating to a larger school district have not done so,” Donley said.
School Board and City Council members will decide on the program in the spring.
