Board to hold redistricting information meeting

The Board of Education is holding its first high school redistricting meeting on Monday, Nov. 5 to provide information about the process to develop new high school attendance zones. Staff members will explain the redistricting timeline, committee selection process, how alternatives will be developed and opportunities for community input. The meeting is at 7 p.m., Nov. 5 at Westlake High School in Waldorf. A question/answer period will follow the presentation.


The committee has not yet developed alternatives or proposals. Committee work begins following the Nov. 5 public meeting.

The redistricting committee's purpose is to develop and evaluate potential high school attendance zones for consideration by the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education. The high school redistricting committee, which was selected at the Board's Oct. 9 meeting, may take as long as five months to develop proposals. The Board of Education, through policy, requires the committee to submit two different proposals. Public hearings on the committee's proposals will be held in the spring.

High school redistricting will create an attendance zone for the new St. Charles High School scheduled to open in August 2014 and balance the student enrollment at the six existing high schools. The plan, once complete, will shift students entering grades 9, 10 and 11 in August 2014 and will impact students across the county. Staff regularly posts information about the redistricting on the school system's website, www.ccboe.com.

Tentative redistricting timeline

• Starting in November, the redistricting committee meets weekly at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building in La Plata for as long as it takes to develop two different proposals for the high school redistricting. Dates and times will be determined after the Nov. 5 public information meeting.
• The tentative recommendations for 2014 redistricting will be presented to the community at two public meetings. The meetings will be scheduled in the spring and after the recommendations are complete. Tentatively, the committee will present its proposal to the Superintendent at the April 9 Board of Education meeting. A public hearing on both proposals will be held shortly after that presentation.
• The Superintendent's recommendation will be presented to the Board of Education the following month, on May 14. The Board will schedule a public hearing prior to approval of the boundary changes and following the Superintendent's recommendation to the Board.
• The Board will approve the school attendance areas for the 2014-2015 school year at its June meeting. The redistricting decision occurs one year prior to the opening of St. Charles High School in August 2014. Students affected by the redistricting change schools in August 2014.
• This schedule may change depending on the length of time it takes the committee to develop its alternatives.

Throughout the process, information will be provided through telephone calls and e-mails, mailings/backpack fliers, Charles County Public Schools television stations Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOS 12, and the CCPS website at www.ccboe.com. The Board is also accepting written comments. Send comments or questions to redistrict@ccboe.com or Charles County Public Schools, Redistricting, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646.