Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
School board adds fourth rezoning option for Crestwood and B.M. Williams, votes 8-1 to seek more community feedback
Summary
The Chesapeake School Board voted 8-1 to add a fourth attendance-zone option for B.M. Williams and Crestwood elementary schools and to extend the public-comment period so the administration can survey the community on that option.
The Chesapeake School Board voted 8-1 on Feb. 24 to add a fourth attendance-zone option for the new Crestwood Elementary School and B.M. Williams Elementary School and to delay final rezoning action so the district can gather more public feedback.
The motion to add “option 4” was made by Dr. Brittany Walker and seconded by Amanda Dean. The motion carried with eight board members voting in favor and Malia Huddle opposing the addition.
Board members and staff said the fourth map would provide the most enrollment relief at B.M. Williams and could remove the bulk of on-site portable classrooms there, but it would also place higher enrollment pressure on the new Crestwood building and raise the likelihood that the new school might need portables after opening.
Alex (staff member), who presented the updated maps and survey results, said the district received 130 survey responses: 42% favored option 1, 31% favored option 3 and 27% favored option 2. He described option 4 as the plan that “would provide the most enrollment relief to B.M. Williams Elementary School” while leaving Crestwood with less future growth capacity.
Under option 4 as presented, B.M. Williams’ projected enrollment would fall to about 618 students (85% of capacity) and Crestwood would open with about 852 students (91% of capacity). Staff emphasized that the 91% figure still could require additional rooms for special programs and that special-education and classroom-ratio details could create the need for one or more portables at Crestwood despite the percentage.
Presenters and board members also discussed the area’s development pipeline. Staff said the zone contains 93 parcels already zoned for residential development and that level-of-service (LOS) figures — units approved through the city’s site-plan process — can create large projected enrollment impacts when high-density projects (for example, an apartment complex) are included.
Board members asked detailed questions about preschool and CPI (special programs) portables at B.M. Williams. Presenters said the current campus has four CPI portables and 11 other portables; under option 1 the district could remove eight portables and leave seven (four preschool and three resource portables). Under option 4 staff said a scenario exists to remove all four CPI portables from B.M. Williams by relocating two classrooms into the building and relocating two CPI classrooms to other facilities — an approach still under study.
The board directed staff to add option 4 to the public outreach and to extend the community-feedback timeline: rather than finalizing an option at the Feb. 10 meeting, staff will collect additional survey results and return on Feb. 24 with updated feedback for a second public hearing and a possible final action.
Why it matters: B.M. Williams has longstanding capacity pressure driven by enrollment patterns and program needs. The board framed the decision as balancing elimination of portables at one campus against the risk of precipitating portables and higher enrollment at the newly built Crestwood school.
What’s next: Staff will run a new community survey that includes option 4, gather additional comments, and present updated results at the Feb. 24 meeting for further board action.
