PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Frustration over overcrowded classrooms at Covington-Harper Elementary School resurfaced this week as parents called on the Prince William County School Board to revisit rezoning plans that could ease conditions at the Dumfries-area school.
During the October 1 School Board meeting, a parent accused the board and Superintendent LaTanya McDade of “choosing personal opinions over students” by refusing to rezone Covington-Harper. The parent urged members to act or face a “vote of no confidence” from families concerned about student safety and learning conditions.
The criticism echoes a months-long debate over overcrowding at the 7-year-old elementary school, which has exceeded its capacity for years as new housing developments rise across the Potomac District.
According to Prince William County Public Schools data cited by Potomac Local News in April 2025, Covington-Harper was serving 988 students in a building designed for 796, or roughly 130% of capacity. The school relies on modular classrooms — trailers — to handle the overflow and could need as many as 15 trailers by the 2026–27 school year if enrollment continues to rise and new construction remains delayed.
“We’re looking at a point of being over 130% capacity… that essentially means there will be 15 trailers at Covington-Harper,” School Board member Justin Wilk (Potomac District) told Potomac Local News earlier this year.
At the time, Wilk warned that overcrowding was forcing the school to repurpose spaces meant for enrichment and technology.
“They even had a TED Talk room when it opened,” Wilk said in April. “Now, everything is filled.”
Wilk’s repeated efforts to pursue a temporary boundary change failed in late 2024, when the School Board voted 5–3 against his motion. Opponents said adjusting lines for one school could trigger similar requests countywide.
Even if approved now, division staff have said any boundary study would take at least four months and might only serve as a short-term fix. When the long-delayed Potomac Shores Elementary School finally opens — now expected in 2027–28 — some students could face a second redistricting in consecutive years.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Wilk acknowledged that the division has added safety measures and facilities upgrades but said those efforts don’t address the root of the problem.
“It’s almost like you’re going to have another school or a campus,” he told colleagues. “How is this going to impact lunch? Are we going to have to hire another set of teachers just for the trailer community?”
Relief Still Years Away
The overcrowding crisis stems from the delayed construction of two new elementary schools meant to serve eastern Prince William.
As Potomac Local News reported in April, the Woodbridge Area Elementary School, located across from Marumsco Plaza on U.S. 1, was pushed back to the 2026–27 school year due to floodplain design changes and the discovery of an underground sanitary line that required deep rerouting.
Further south, the Potomac Shores Elementary School project — first identified in the division’s capital plan nearly a decade ago — won’t open until 2027–28. Land acquisition and site suitability problems delayed construction for years, though its planned capacity has since expanded to 1,050 students, making it the largest elementary school in the county.
Until then, families at Covington-Harper are left with trailers, converted classrooms, and mounting frustration.
“Unless people are pushing hard and really advocating for this, it’s going to be tough,” Wilk said in April. “I need the support… and I need to galvanize the community.”
“It takes more than just liking a Facebook post to get people out,” he added at this week’s meeting. “Time is running out.”
