Fewer Elementary Schoolers Move in Chosen Proposal

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education decided Wednesday night to pursue the superintendent's original redistricting proposal for south county elementary schools instead a newer alternative. A public hearing is scheduled for March 20 to discuss the plan.

The move killed an alternative plan proposed by board member Kevin Jackson that would have moved Selby on the Bay students to  and seen all students on Riva Road redistricted to . But after the board made no motion on the alternative proposal, the Superintendent Kevin Maxwell's plan moves to public hearing.

Instead of seeing all children from Riva Road transferred to Davidsonville Elementary, only students from Waterford, Berkshire and Annapolis Landing would be redistricted to Davidsonville. also includes "any student living along the south side of Riva Road within this proposed boundary who may not live in one of these communities," according to the redistricting document.

During the meeting Wednesday night in Annapolis, various south county school parents gathered to voice their concerns over , and . 

Up-to-the-minute reports from the Wednesday night's meeting are listed below: 

9:24 p.m.—Pamela Davis, a parent at Davidsonville Elementary, is speaking to support the PTO's President Amy Richardson. Davis says she opposes the alternative (second) redistricting proposal (the one that would move almost double the students from Central Elementary to Davidsonville Elementary).

9:21 p.m.—Jane Huterberg, lives in Annapolis Landing, and said there are a lot of people who do want to go to Davidsonville [Elementary] despite lots of previous voices heard. 

"It would be my great desire for all of Riva to go to ," Huterberg said. "Riva is right next to Davidsonville and it just makes sense in the long term." 

9:18 p.m.—Andrew Catalino, an officer in the military who recently got back from serving in the Middle East, says he supports the redistricting plan on Riva Road to Davidsonville.

9:10 p.m.—Davidsonville PTO President Amy Richardson is currently addressing the board about her and the community's concerns about the secondary redistricting proposals. 

"Sending up to 200 or more students to Davidsonville from Central would redistribute the problem," Richardson said. She expressed her approval of the initial plan, that would only send about 100 students to Davidsonville and not 200. 

"Having been through this process before, I know what can happen. We want to be part of the solution, but we dont want the problem to be dumped in our laps for next fall," Richardson son. 

9:03 p.m.—Board member Andrew Pruski asks Yocum and Szachnowicz about the possible need for more trailers at Davidsonville Elementary.

8:56 p.m.—Board recaps the proposed redistricting alternatives that would send Selby on the Bay students to and see all students on Riva Road redistricted them to . It would also almost double the initial amount of students heading to Davidsonville, much more than the initial 98-100 students expected. 

Board member Eugene Peterson asking questions to Anne Arundel County school specialist Chuck Yocum and county school Chief Operating Officer Alex Szachnowicz about potential safety risks of following through with the redistricting alternatives. Discussion is now focusing on school bus routes and transportation of students. 

8:55 p.m.—Board about to discuss redistricting of Central, Davidsonville and Mayo Elementary. Here we go. 

8:46 p.m.—Central Middle School mother with four children is visibly emotional while discussing heterogeneous grouping. She's obviously choked up and crying.

"Mom, I feel like I'm put back [due to easier classes]," she said her son told her. "My heart broke." 

"I love diversity, I think that's great," she said. "But I hope you'll reconsider how you're grouping the kids."

8:35 p.m.—Another  School mother speaking about her fears of heterogeneous grouping, citing it as a possible reason for America's decreasing status in terms of global education. 

Says conversations about school with her child have shifted from "engaging material" to "disruptive students" due to heterogeneous grouping at Central Middle. 

8:28 p.m.—Loren Suite, an 8th grade student at , says throughout her education she's gotten straight As but feels like she actually hasn't earned them because of the current education plan.

"I find myself tutoring other students," and says she notices more cheating due to heterogeneous mixing. "Please go back to the way things were and halt heterogeneous grouping."

8:22 p.m.—A mother of a Central Elementary student says she's "terrified" of the heterogeneous mixture education plan. 

**Meanwhile, about a third of the room just emptied after the Chesapeake High parents left after their public testimonies concluded. 

8:08 p.m.—The last couple public speakers during the testimony period have been from Chesapeake High, speaking of their support for the wrestling coach and athletic director recently removed from their positions.

7:57 p.m.—A mom of a 9-year-old at Edgewater Elementary says her son has been sick with asthma since Dec. 3. Says he's missed more than two weeks of school.

"I guarantee you that not just my child but everyone else's child has conditions, and that needs to be looked at," she said. "That school is 60 years old, there's going to be issues with it."

7:54 p.m.—Another Edgewater Elementary mom discussing health concerns at her school.

"For a school deemed safe, why are [construction workers] protecting themselves at Edgewater Elementary?" she said, in reference to workers wearing "wading boots" and masks when working on a crawl space at the school.

Said a video was taken of a "foul smelling steam coming from the heating unit... All these things are not hearsay," she said. "Mothers and fathers have gut instincts and I will choose to follow mine."

7:49 p.m.—Matthew Fischer, an Edgewater Elementary parent is speaking directly to the board about its claims that some of the parents' concerns were "hearsay." Saying it was frustrating, concerning and ultimately upsetting.

7:34 p.m.—A man representing the Secretaries and Assistants Association of Anne Arundel County (SAAAAC) is addressing the board, saying there needs to be an increase in pay for secretaries and assistants in positions throughout AACPS. He said some make only $16,400 a year as their gross salary. 

7:33 p.m.—As many , there are equally a large number of parents from Chesapeake High to talk about the removal of their varsity wrestling coach and athletic director. 

7:14 p.m.—Lots of people saying this is the most crowded the board room has been in a long time. 

7:11 p.m.—We're officially underway at the Board of Education meeting in Annapolis. Stay tuned for pertinent information to south county residents.

7:00 p.m.—The  meeting in Annapolis Wednesday night will possibly determine which redistricting proposals move forward to public hearing. 

Davidsonville PTO President Amy Richardson will speak to the board and address her concerns of the newly proposed redistricting plans, an effort that could see nearly 200 students moved from  to .

"We're ready to embrace the original plan but doubling the number [initially 98 students in Superintendent Maxwell's plan] is just relocating the problem," Richardson said. 

The newer redistricting proposal recommended by board member Kevin Jackson doubles the initial number of students heading to Davidsonville, said Catherine Donnelly, a parent at Davidsonville Elementary. 

In addition to the parents involved in redistricting,  parents are again filling many chairs in the board room, ready to voice their health concerns that the school is physically taking a toll on their children.