HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — Some Hanover County parents are raising concerns over the county's proposed options for school rezoning. The district held its final community engagement session Wednesday night to gather feedback on the newly released options.
Hanover County leaders are considering redrawing zoning lines for some students due to overcrowding at Cool Springs Elementary, with projections indicating that the situation could worsen in the future with projected growth.
“I wanted to come and see the proposal for myself,” said Andy Hoge, a parent of a Cool Springs student.
“We are here. We’re so concerned,” added Jayme Collings, another Cool Springs parent.
Students may be rezoned as early as next year as the district addresses capacity issues. The school board currently uses portable classrooms to accommodate the increase in enrollment and hired a consulting firm in the fall to study the issues and provide recommendations.
The firm has proposed three options for the school board to consider:
Option 1 suggests rezoning students in the Giles neighborhood to Washington Henry Elementary in August 2024. When the new school is fully built in 2027, students from Craney Island and the Atlee-Manor neighborhood would also move to Washington Henry.
Option 2 reverses the order, moving students from Craney Island and Atlee-Manor to Washington Henry first, followed by students from Giles later.
Option 3 involves rezoning parts of the Kings Charter neighborhood to Pearson’s Corner Elementary.
The recommendations have sparked varied reactions from the hundreds of families who attended the three sessions.
Collings voiced her concerns, stating, “I mean, you think they need to go back to the drawing board because we don't think that we should move when we can walk across the street to our schools, and we don't think our friends at King's Charter should have to either.”
Hoge added, “Proximity to the school is important. In two of the options, we would be moved to a school that is about 12 minutes away from our house.”
Some parents expressed frustration over what they described as predictable growth.
“It feels like the Hanover County government hasn't planned very well for the new neighborhoods being built. Our neighborhood was planned almost 10 years ago, knowing that there would be two [hundred] to 400 homes,” Hoge stated.
Collings emphasized, “The county's growing. Hanover has wonderful schools; that's not a question, but they just need to do better with their planning.”
The district has called the rezoning process complex but remains committed to ensuring that school buildings meet the current and future needs of the community. While the focus is on elementary schools, the district is also analyzing data for middle and high schools.
The Hanover County School Board is set to vote on the rezoning in April. For now, the district continues to collect online feedback until Feb. 10.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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