Some Prince George’s County parents are deeply troubled about a redistricting plan that would take students in wealthier neighborhoods out of high-performing schools.
Worried parents packed a middle school gymnasium Tuesday night, almost all of them hoping to convince the school board to vote against proposed boundary changes favored by the administration.
Beneath the surface of a debate over two plans, affecting 16 schools, to accommodate the brand new Laurel-Beltsville Elementary, were worries about students receiving the same quality of education at a new and potentially poorer school.
The plan favored by the district would make Beltsville Elementary into a pilot project for a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade plan, but would slightly overcrowd five middle schools. The plan favored by most parents would ease overcrowding everywhere and skip the pilot project. Under both plans, boundaries will change.
“The boundaries are disfavorable,” said Carmen McGill, president of the PTA at Laurel’s Oaklands Elementary. “Under both, we lose the majority of our homeowners” and replace them with nearby students in apartment complexes, including about 80 from a public housing project.
Another parent told the board: “My husband and I made a hefty investment so our child could go to Bond Mill Elementary,” which is in a wealthier section of Laurel. “Please consider where parents have made a commitment.”
Superintendent John Deasy’s administration has broader goals.
“The district isn’t just what we have right now, but for every kid we’re going to have in the future,” said Derek Mitchell, director of new schools and boundaries for the district, and a strong advocate for pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade neighborhood schools.
Mitchell cited research in support of the model, saying the sense of community created by the setup leads to increased attendance, decreased drop-out rates, higher parental involvement and academic achievement gains.
“If we had our druthers, there’d be a K through 8 school in every part of the county,” he said.
Lawmakers at the meeting were unconvinced, but seemed partial to their constituents.
Councilman Tom Dernoga and board member Donna Hathaway Beck acknowledged Mitchell’s plan looked good in theory, but deferred to fears of overcrowding with no sign of relief.
“At the moment,” Dernoga said, “there are no new schools in anyone’s budget.”
