The Rules of Redistricting

If you've seen the latest proposals for next year's redistricting, you'll know that it's all over the place, unnecessarily redistricts far more students, doesn't take into account that these same Neighborhoods will be redistricted again when new schools in the area are built, and sends kids to schools that are much further away than their current one. In some cases it forces current walkers to be bused to a far away school. In order to make sense out of this, some rules and semblance of common sense needs to be established. This post will do just that.

You can't simply solve over-crowding in foul swoop. There's only one new School opening in 2018 which is ES#42 in the northeast. It is true that there are other areas in the County that are over-crowded as well as over-crowded middle and high schools. By doing a grandiose County wide plan, the Schools may be balanced for a year or two but over-crowding will resume in no time at all at the cost of severing communities.

Luckily, there are plans to open additional schools in the coming years which will address over-crowding such as ES#43 in the southeast, ES#44 in West Columbia(new Faulkner Ridge ES), ES#45 (West Friendship replacement school in Turf Valley) HS#13 in Elkridge or Jessup, MS#21 in the northeast or southeast, and a Talbott Springs replacement school. Since none of these additional schools are opening in 2018, so redistrict those areas WHEN those new or replacement schools DO open.

Also, there's no need to empty out and refill an already balanced or slightly under or over crowded school. Take Oakland Mills HS, it can absorb another 100-200 students. All one would need to do is add 100-200 students from a nearby crowded school to Oakland Mills. Yet, what's being proposed is taking long standing areas of the Oakland Mills community and up-rooting them to other schools. Then Oakland Mills is slated to be completely re-populated with far away communities along the Route 1 Corridor which will over-crowd Oakland Mills in a few short years. Similar proposals are slated for Wilde Lake HS and Atholton HS. With these schools, less is more.

Don't touch a School that may balance itself out shortly. Take Marriotts Ridge, it's under-crowded right now but with some many newer communities and crowded Elementary in Middle Schools in its District, it's going to fill itself up. Redistricting other communities into it is very short sighted. The Communities slated to be redistricted there are much closer than the schools they're in now for the most part. I agree Neighboring Schools like Centennial and Mount Hebron are very crowded and will continue to be so. However, Centennial is slated for a renovation that may up its capacity. And/or the Centennial/Mount Hebron area may/should be the location for HS#14. Preferably in the Worthington area so that it's not close to other Schools.

Speaking of close to other schools, Howard County is terrible at picking out school sites. The proposed site for HS#13 isn't any better. There's a site in Elkridge at Montgomery Road and Landing Road that is closer to the growth. Redistricting to fill in Jessup will continue the trend of breaking up Neighborhoods and even fewer people not going to their Neighborhood School. If you look at the location of high schools, you will see that they're clumped to together. Reservoir, River Hill, Atholton, Wilde Lake, and Hammond are all a stones throw from each other and then most of their districts reach far out into areas with no high school like North Laurel. Howard and Long Reach are like this too. If you're within walking distance to one, you're within walking distance to the other. Both schools then reach a long arm and bus Elkridge into their schools. The Landing road site for HS#13 will give Elkridge its own High School with many walkers. The Mission Road site will not. It will however make a good site for another Elementary and Middle School in future years.

Our last redistricting rule has less to do with redistricting and more to do with capital improvement projects and school equity. It more has to do with not over funding one school and under funding another one. Take the proposed addition to Ellicott Mills Middle. This is already a newer School that uses the current Middle School Prototype. Neighboring Oakland Mills Middle. There's a capital improvement project for a renovation of this school. Oakland Mills Middle is not a prototype school and it is a much smaller building. In the name of school equity, I propose leaving Ellicott Mills as is, transferring those to the Oakland Mills project, and upgrading the Oakland Mills project to a replacement School using the current Middle School prototype. Appropriate redistricting will follow once this replacement Oakland Mills opens.

Although Howard County is beginning to see this way, they must look at future renovation projects of older schools are replacement schools. First, doing so helps create a better school equity balance and second, these replacement schools will be larger than their current predecessors and can relieve crowding with less redistricting. In addition to Oakland Mills MS, I ask that replacement schools be considered in the following renovations; Dunloggin MS, Patapsco MS, Jeffers Hill ES, Harpers Choice MS, Atholton ES, and either Bryant Woods and/or Running Brook ES. ES#45 will be a replacement for West Friendship ES. ES#44 in Faulkner Ridge can act as swing space if needed as well.

If you've seen the latest redistricting proposals, you will know just how out there it is and that it moves too many students without warrant and these same Neighborhoods will get redistricted again  as more new schools open and the short sighted redistricting will over-crowd the schools in a short years yet again. But if we simply follow these rules of redistricting, we can minimize the number of impacted students and gradually reduce crowding in Howard County.