Updated
Manassas school officials are trying to solve overcrowding issues in the city’s elementary schools.
School boundaries in place since 1990 have resulted in the overcapacity in two schools; specifically Baldwin and Weems Elementary. Baldwin’s capacity is 706 and 757 students reside in the Baldwin boundary zone. Weems capacity is 713, yet 763 students reside in the Weems boundary zone.
Dean Elementary (727 students), Haydon Elementary (667 students) and Round Elementary (669 students) are under capacity with 665 students, 597 students, and 507 students living in these zones, respectively. The population in all of the city’s five elementary schools is expected to grow.
School officials aim to implement one of two new plans under consideration by the city’s School Board to ease overcrowding. Under Plan A a total of 786 students would be affected by the changes. A total of 698 students would be affected by Plan B.
The first phase of the proposed redistricting plans will be to move students in Pre-K to 4th grades from their current school to Mayfield Intermediate, or a new Baldwin Elementary and Intermediate School opening in January in August. Fifth-grade students will be redistricted in August of 2017, and sixth grade students in August of 2018.
After a series of public meetings in February, Manassas City Public Schools Executive Director of Student and Administrative Support Services derived Plan B after parents with children at Haydon Elementary School who live west of Route 234 said they wanted to keep their children in that school because the school is located west of the road.
“We’re using Route 234 as a boundary line, so it would make more sense to keep them at Haydon,” said Abt.
You can view Abt’s presentation to the School Board. The School Board is expected to decide which plan they want to adopt at its April 12 meeting.
A second phase of the city school’s redistricting plan will look at planning for future enrollment growth, and a third phase will consider how student population would change under a proposal to rebuild Jennie Dean Elementary School.
School officials said the overall redistricting plan will balance attendance areas with school capacity, and account for future growth. Other goals include allowing neighborhood children to attend the same schools, maximize efficiencies in bus transportation, to balance the cost of free or reduced lunch, and eliminate trailer classrooms.
