A redistricting committee presented its recommendations to the Charles County Board of Education on how to handle overcrowding in some elementary and middle schools during Tuesday’s CCBOE meeting.  At center, the overcrowded William A. Diggs Elemenary School and Theodore G. Davis in Waldorf.

A public hearing was set for February 28th at Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf.  After that, a formal recommendation must be sent to the superintendent and the elected school board by March 13th.  A public hearing will then take place on March 26th at North Point High School in Waldorf, and the board will take action on April 10th.

As TheBAYNET.com reported at the start of the school year, William A. Diggs Elementary School has over a thousand students attending.

The Alternative A redistricting proposal would move some 265 students out of Diggs and in either J.C. Parks Elementary School in Pomonkey or Berry Elementary School in Waldorf.  Parks is located near the airport and students along the Billingsley Road corridor would be moved there.  Berry is located off MD-228 and students in a segment of the 228 around Greenwood Drive and Ironwood Drive would find themselves moving to Berry.

The main players in the middle school scenario are Matthew Henson Middle School in Pomonkey, General Smallwood Middle School in Indian Head and Theodore G. Davis Middle School in Waldorf.

The bulk of the redistricting Is in the Indian Head and Bryan’s Road areas.  Many students on the MD-229 corridor, currently zoned for Davis, would be sent to Henson.  Under the same scenario, many students south of Bryan’s Road would be moved to Smallwood.

Parents in the Bennsville corridor have already cried foul and more than 60 parents in the vicinity have signed a petition to stop the redistricting; saying students should be zoned for the school closest to them.  Charles County Public Schools Director of Communications and Media Relations Katie O’Malley Simpson said the petition would be taken in to consideration and sent to the board.

A complete copy of the redistricting proposal is available on the CCPS BoardDocs page at: http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/ccpsmd/Board.nsf/files/8RCS8N715D33/$file/Redist2012_Board%20Presentation_Final_Feb2012.pdf