May 24, 2005
Tonight was the first of three informational sessions set up by Albemarle County Public Schools that would discuss the redistricting of several schools around the county.
"We take a look at how we can best match up the enrollment projections with the capacity we have in our schools," said Executive Director of Support Services Diane Behrens
The current plan shifts students from certain schools to avoid reaching capacity at other schools. These plans are based on population projections looking forward to both 2006 and 2009, but some students from Burley Middle School feel that looking so far forward is detrimental for them now.
"We are being kicked out of this school for people that may or may not be here in five or six years," said student Erica Pritchard.
Phase one of the plan will begin this but only affect 69 students county wide. Phase two is slated to begin in the fall of the 2006 and will affect up to 1900 students from elementary school all the way up to high school. According to the school system, the plan is a necessary evil to anticipate growth for the future.
"Change is hard. Folks move into areas that they get a custom to and they have schools that they are familiar with. They have children that have friends and they don't like that disrupted," said Behrens.
For this Burley Middle School student, the plan is about so much more. "I will be all alone my senior year in Monticello. I will meet new friends but it is also such a long drive," said Burley Middle School student Chelsea Robbins.
For more information, check out Albemarle schoolboard's website on the subject at www.k12albemarle.org/Board/LongRangePlanning
