STAFFORD, Va. — After several community and school board meetings, Stafford County, under a new leadership, continues to seek feedback on plans to redraw neighborhood boundaries.
Another public hearing is set on Dec. 10 before the final vote in January.
Officials say it’s necessary again because the school system must now fill more than 2,100 seats at a new 290,000 square feet high school set to open next year on Truslow Road near Route 17. The last redistrict plan was in 2022.
School board members have boiled down the plans to five scenarios for all high schools in the division with the goal of not only filling up the new school but balancing the school population among the other schools and the number of students who receive free meals.
However, there’s been pushbacks from parents in affected areas who worry the changes will cause more headaches on the roads.
Among the concerned parents include Linda Burden whose teenager daughter attends North Stafford High School. If plans are approved, her daughter would have to attend Brooke Point High School instead, which means longer commute times.
Burden said with traffic and late bus time arrivals, uprooting children will be an issue.
“Why move us now when you can’t get us to North Stafford High School on time?” Burden questioned. “Asking us to now move down to Brooke Point is going to be a little difficult with traffic. They should be left alone.”
Having experienced changes in boundaries twice before with her older son, Burden and other parents expressed interest in a limit on future boundary changes.
There are several reasons to district the county, but a SCPS spokesperson said future redistrict is something the district can’t avoid, especially if it means filling a new school.
“We can't build a school and not fill it with students,” Chief Communications Officer Sandra Osborn told WUSA9. “We know this is a frustrating process for parents, and we certainly are sympathetic to their concerns. The board hears and reads every single comment, which is why so many scenarios are introduced.”
In an earlier November meeting, school board member Alyssa Halstead described a confusing process.
“When you look at these maps, my headache is never ending because of where our schools are positioned and how we've done this in the past,” she said.
In the last public hearing, only one parent spoke up. Parent Michelle Wickman urged board members to keep neighborhoods and the peers together.
“This is the second time they propose to take our little section of townhomes into a completely new school zone than the rest of the neighborhood,” Wickman said.