Crozet school may transfer 101 students

Overcrowding at Crozet Elementary School will force more than 100 students from portable buildings to a new school next fall.

Albemarle County school officials are hosting a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Crozet Elementary School to discuss a proposal that would move 101 students to Brownsville Elementary.

Students who live in the Grayrock, Bargamin Park and Waylands Grant subdivisions would be moved if the School Board approves the proposal.

The board is scheduled to hear the redistricting plan at its Nov. 6 meeting, but must hold a public hearing before voting on the issue.

“This is the second phase in a plan to solve overcrowding at Crozet Elementary School,” said Brian Wheeler, at-large School Board member. “It’s part of a long-term plan to handle the increase in students in Crozet.”

Crozet Elementary, which has a capacity for 380 students, currently has an enrollment of 428.

Rob Patterson, who has two daughters at Crozet Elementary, is concerned the proposed redistricting will separate his children from their friends. The Pattersons live in the Grayrock North subdivision; the children there would not have to change schools.

“My wife and I are concerned about our daughters losing their social network,” Patterson said. “It would be the easy road to stay at Crozet Elementary because it’s close, but we have to think about our children.”

Although Grayrock North is in the same homeowners association as the Grayrock subdivision, the two have separate access roads. They do share connecting pathways and common spaces.

It would not be beneficial to include students from Grayrock North in the current redistricting plans because it would take too many students from Crozet Elementary, said Carole Hastings, Albemarle’s principle leader for transportation services.

“If we take too many students out of Crozet Elementary School, it could affect instructional services,” Hastings said.

School officials point to the fact that children in the Forest Lakes and Forest Lakes North subdivisions, which also are in the same homeowners association, attend different elementary schools.

Redistricting would solve overcrowding at Crozet Elementary and give them room for growth for at least eight years, Hastings said. School officials are working toward a master plan to look at future growth in all parts of the county.

“Redistricting is something that is a fact of life,” Hastings said. “We’re trying to look long term and let parents know what to expect with future growth.”

In February, school officials developed four options for moving students from Crozet to Brownsville and gave parents several months to voice their concerns and opinions.

Only 15 people had weighed in on the options by the end of the summer, said Maury Brown, spokeswoman for the school division.

School officials chose the Grayrock option in August because of the number of students, the proximity of the neighborhoods to Brownsville Elementary School and the ability to bus all of the students on one route, Hastings said.

Crozet Elementary has been at or over capacity since 2002 and school officials have been working on a plan to alleviate the problem, Wheeler said.

Since there is little room for expansion at Crozet Elementary School, the board approved a $10.27 million expansion to Brownsville Elementary in June 2007 to absorb the overflow. This expansion, which includes a new wing of classrooms, more kitchen space and a new gymnasium, will be finished in the spring.

There are currently 402 students at Brownsville Elementary School and the additions will allow for 716, Brown said.

The board has funded an expansion to Henley Middle School and is talking about an expansion at Western Albemarle High School to absorb future growth, Wheeler said. The feeder pattern for both elementary schools will bring students together in the sixth grade at Henley.

Patterson said he and his wife are considering selling their home and moving to the Brownsville school district so their daughters can be with their friends.

He plans to attend the meeting on Monday and voice his concerns, but said he fears school officials have already made their decision.

“We’re part of a neighborhood and we would like our children to stay with their friends,” Patterson said. “We think it’s important for their development to maintain the relationships they’ve been cultivating.”

Wheeler said no decision has been made and they are still open to hear concerns, but the expansion at Brownsville Elementary School guarantees students will have to be moved from one school to the other.

Once the board decides on a redistricting plan, affected students will get a chance to visit their new school and parents will receive information about changes taking place.

“Our principals at both schools are going to work closely with parents to make sure the transition is a smooth one,” Wheeler said.

The Crozet Elementary School redistricting is the only one in the works in the county, Wheeler said.

The public is invited to speak on the redistricting issue at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Crozet Elementary School.