Anne Arundel County Public Schools (ACPS) staff on a public briefing reviewed two new Phase 2 redistricting proposals — Superintendent Recommendation 3 (SR 3) and Board Recommendation 3 (BR 3) — and explained how each would reassign students, affect school utilization and handle legacy transfers and magnet programs.

The presentation, led by Bill Heizer, ACPS chief operating officer, and Kyle Roof, executive director of facilities, summarized differences among the six draft plans under consideration (SR1–3 and BR1–3), reported student movement counts by neighborhood and school, and outlined next steps including two public hearings and a Nov. 19 board adoption date.

SR 3 and BR 3 are generally less disruptive than SR 1 and BR 1, ACPS officials said; both proposals aim to reduce crowding at specific schools while preserving most current feeder patterns. SR 3 introduces one split feeder articulation: a portion of students in the Nantucket Elementary attendance area would move to Arundel Middle School and Arundel High School rather than the Crofton feeder. BR 3 does not add split articulations but rezones several neighborhoods differently than SR 3, including shifting Gingerville, Poplar and Willanor into the Annapolis cluster.

ACPS provided school-by-school movement counts drawn from current enrollment (school year 2024–25) and noted those figures do not include projected residential growth or the unofficial enrollment figures that were shared at an Oct. 15 meeting. Highlights included: Two Rivers Elementary would move 84 students to Piney Orchard under SR 3 (net gains and losses across nearby schools would produce utilization estimates such as Piney Orchard at about 91% under SR 3); under BR 3 Two Rivers would show no net moves and remain near 94% using 2024–25 enrollment. Other notable shifts include 63 students moving to 7 Oaks from Odenton in SR 3 (72 under BR 3), and Arnold Elementary gaining 88 students from Belvedere in both SR 3 and BR 3 to relieve overcrowding at Belvedere.

At the middle-school level, SR 3 would move 103 students from Crofton Middle School to Arundel Middle School and 81 students from Arundel to MacArthur, producing estimated utilizations of roughly 97% (Arundel), 93% (Crofton) and 64% (MacArthur). Under BR 3, Crofton Middle would remain unchanged while 47 students would move from Arundel to MacArthur (MacArthur estimated at 62%).

At the high-school level, SR 3 follows the middle-school articulations and keeps the Apex Arts magnet program at Annapolis High School. BR 3 also preserves Apex Arts at Annapolis and additionally rezones the Gingerville/Poplar/Willanor neighborhoods into the Annapolis cluster, which ACPS staff said will add roughly 40 high-school students to Annapolis High School and could push its utilization above current levels. Crofton High School remains the most over-capacity building discussed: ACPS reported it at about 111% utilization in current unofficial figures; SR 3 would lower Crofton slightly toward 103% in 2026–27 if legacy students remain, while BR 3 leaves Crofton near its existing level because BR 3 moves no students out of Crofton High School.

ACPS described legacy transfer provisions differently in the two proposals. SR 3 would allow students entering 12th grade in school year 2026–27 to remain at their current high school if they register via the district’s legacy transfer portal; BR 3 extends that option to students entering both 11th and 12th grades in 2026–27. In both proposals, families who opt to remain must provide their own transportation; ACPS staff said magnet transportation would continue to be provided but that parking for legacy juniors is not guaranteed. ACPS estimated up to 71 legacy students under SR 3 and 48 under BR 3 (with a second-year implementation under BR 3 reducing the number further to 24 before full implementation in 2028–29). Staff said these legacy enrollments have the greatest effect at Crofton High School.

ACPS said magnet assignments at secondary schools would be honored under all recommendations. The district gave the example that students in the Annapolis High School International Baccalaureate program would remain at Annapolis High School regardless of boundary changes. For the Apex Arts program, SR 2 and BR 2 had proposed relocating the program to Severn Run High School; SR 3 and BR 3 keep Apex at Annapolis.

On transportation, ACPS staff reported no significant change in the number of walkers or estimated bus riders when comparing SR 3 and BR 3 to current routes. The Transportation Division’s route comparison found no increased need for buses within the study area under either recommendation, according to the presentation.

Next steps outlined by staff include two public hearings on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, opening the legacy transfer portal in December if a plan is adopted, and a Nov. 19 board adoption date for the redistricting plan with implementation set for August 2026 (staff said development of new bus routes would occur between February and July). ACPS posted an interactive web tool and supporting documents at www.aacpsredistricting.org.

The briefing emphasized that current utilization figures use the 2024–25 enrollment baseline and do not account for pending residential development that ACPS said could increase enrollment at affected schools. Officials repeatedly noted that transportation would not be provided for students who remain at their current high school under the legacy provisions and that limited parking could complicate implementation for juniors who stay.