This FAQ was mailed to all CES families in the Spring of 2006. (A PDF version of this summary is also available for download.) Note that some information has been updated with more recent developments, although the PDF version is static and has not been updated.
Skip to frequently asked questions about:
The new elementary school
Map of approximate location for Nantucket Elementary School
Redistricting
Overcrowding at Crofton Elementary School
Q. I thought that the new elementary school was already funded? Why do I have to attend the County Council hearing?
A. The Board of Education has requested the funds for the new elementary school, but it is up to the Anne Arundel County Council to approve it in their 2007 Budget. Our visible support at the hearing will help ensure the funding of this project.
Q. Where will the new Nantucket Elementary School be built?
A. On Nantucket Road, off Riedel Road (see map). Houses on Old Mystic Court, Hamden Court, and Bellow Court will back to the new school, as will houses on the courts off Powderhorn Way.
[Update: the new school's name was officially set to "Nantucket Elementary School" by the Board of Education on May 21, 2008. This webpage has been updated to reflect this new name.]
Q. How many students will the new school accommodate?
A. The new school is expected to seat 700 students; by comparison, Crofton Elementary was built to support 500 students but currently serves 730.
Q. When is the new Nantucket Elementary School scheduled to open if it is built?
A. The new school is scheduled to open in August 2008 if construction goes as planned and funding is approved this budget cycle.
[Update: the school is currently under construction.]
Q. Where will the teachers to staff the new school come from? Will they all be brand new, or will some transfer from existing schools?
A. Staff would be a mix of transfers from existing schools and new hires, both from in-state and around the country, with a mix of experience levels.
Q. Will my taxes go up to pay for the new elementary school?
A. No, Anne Arundel County has a tax cap in place, so tax rates cannot be raised, and unlike some other places, we do not pay additional assessments for school construction.
Q. If the new school isn't built, what will happen to the money allocated for it?
A. The money would go to unrelated projects in the county, possibly not even school related.
Q. What neighborhoods are likely to populate the new school?
A. Likely only neighborhoods east of Route 3, with a combination of Gambrills and Crofton.
[Update: at their April 16, 2008, meeting, the Board of Education voted to populate the new school with students living in the Walden community who currently attend Crofton Elementary and students living on the east side of Route 3 who currently attend Four Seasons Elementary.]
Q. What other options exist for relieving overcrowding at Crofton Elementary?
A. Overcrowding could be relieved by redistricting some Crofton Elementary students to Crofton Meadows. However, there is not enough capacity in Crofton area schools to absorb all the children in the area without building a new school. All Crofton area school MSA scores for 2005 show comparable achievement levels for more information, access the Anne Arundel Schools link at http://www.aacps.org/testing/testing.htm.
Q. Will the new Nantucket Elementary School be districted to go to Arundel Middle School?
A. We don't know for sure what middle school it will feed to, and there will be an opportunity to influence that decision at the redistricting hearings (see next set of questions).
[Update: at their April 16, 2008, meeting, the Board of Education voted to send all students at the new school to Crofton Middle School and then Arundel High School.]
Q. Will redistricting occur regardless of whether the new Nantucket Elementary school is built?
A. The Board of Education has hired MGT Consulting to conduct a countywide facilities study that may include redistricting recommendations. Those results are due to the Board on May 17th [2006].
[Update: The MGT Strategic Facilities Utilization Study can be viewed on the AACPS website.]
Q. Will Crofton Elementary students be redistricted?
A. Due to the extreme overcrowding at Crofton Elementary and projections for that to increase, we are likely to be redistricted.
[Update: at their April 16, 2008, meeting, the Board of Education voted that students living in the Walden community will attend the new school. No other students at Crofton Elementary will be redistricted. No students at Crofton Meadows or Crofton Woods are affected.]
Q. Where will we be redistricted to?
A. We would be redistricted to either one of the other local elementary schools or the new elementary school. There will be a chance to influence that process at redistricting hearings before the decision is made.
Q. Who makes the final decision about how we are redistricted?
A. The Board of Education makes the final decision following a series of public hearings.
Q. What is the redistricting process?
A. The January prior to the year in which redistricting would occur, public hearings will begin and continue until a decision is announced by the Board of Education no later than April 30th. These hearings are your chance to voice your opinion about redistricting before the final decision is made. Each school in the affected school district will have two voting seats on the re-districting panel.
Q. Will there be a grandfather clause allowing children who already attend Crofton Elementary (for instance, those entering 5th grade) to remain?
A. The hearings will be your opportunity to voice your opinion about a grandfather clause.
[Update: there is no grandfathering.]
Q. Will current feeder lines (elementary to middle to high school) remain the same under redistricting?
A. Not necessarily with redistricting, everything is on the table. We don't know what will be recommended, and there will be a chance to influence the recommendations at the public hearings.
[Update: at their April 16, 2008, meeting, the Board of Education voted to send all students at the new school to Crofton Middle School and then Arundel High School. This means that Crofton Middle School feeder system will be Crofton Elementary, Crofton Meadows Elementary, Crofton Woods Elementary, and the new (as yet unnamed) elementary school on Nantucket. Crofton Meadows Elementary and Crofton Woods Elementary will continue on to South River High School, while Crofton Elementary and the new elementary will continue on to Arundel High School.]
Q. How far over capacity is Crofton Elementary?
A. We are currently 230 students over our state-mandated capacity.
Q. Can we add more portables at Crofton Elementary?
A. No, ten portables are the maximum number we are allowed.
[Update: two additional portables were installed before the 2007-8 school year, making a total of 12 portables at Crofton Elementary.]
Q. Can we expand Crofton Elementary to accommodate additional students?
A. Even if we could add more classroom space at Crofton Elementary, the basic infrastructure of the school hallways, bathrooms, cafeteria, media center, parking lot, gym, playground, phone and computer system, specialty classrooms, etc. - is not adequate to meet the needs of a larger population.
Q. What's wrong with using portables for classroom instruction?
A. Though some of the security hazards posed by the portable classrooms were alleviated by the building of a fence around the "village," safety hazards such as icy and wet walkways, cramped classrooms with inadequate storage space creating tripping hazards, heating and cooling issues, noise control, and even in some cases insects and mold are problems that students in the portables face. Montgomery County has actually had questions raised about increased illness among students housed in portables, primarily tied to increased mold levels in older portables. In addition, many Crofton students have voiced the feeling of being "not really part of the school" though intangible, it is important to those experiencing it.
Q. How will the start of Full Day Kindergarten in the 2007-08 school year affect overcrowding at Crofton Elementary School?
A. It will essentially double (or more) the number of kindergartners served by the school, increasing not only our classroom requirements, but also as fulltime students, adding demands for cafeteria time, PE time, art, music, and media time, and other services they don't use as part-time students. The Crofton Elementary staff has come up with a temporary solution, displacing administrative space and shifting special education classes to the media center for the first year until the new school is expected to be built, but it is not a long term solution.
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Return to the Legislative Committee webpage for more redistricting information.
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