St. Mary’s schools begin a countywide redistricting process; first community forums set for late September

St. Mary’s County Public Schools officials on Sept. 24 announced the start of a multi-step facility utilization and school boundary (redistricting) process and urged residents to attend community forums this week and respond to forthcoming surveys.

District leaders said CannonDesign has been retained to analyze enrollment, capacity and building-use data, and that community engagement will shape guiding principles before any options are developed. Mr. Watson and Ms. Howe, co-chairs of the effort, said the first community forums — scheduled for Thursday and Friday evenings — are designed as guided, interactive activities led by the contractor, not as public-comment hearings.

Those forums will present preliminary data and use table-based activities to collect feedback, officials said. CannonDesign is working from a dataset provided by the district; officials said the contractor has received “probably 50 to 60 data inquiries” and is still processing information. The district plans to record the opening presentations, post a summary of the breakout activities on the SMCPS website, and publish the PowerPoint used at the sessions.

District officials said community interest has been…