Parents and neighborhood group press Howard County Board to avoid disruptive redistricting; propose rebalancing pre-K locations

Multiple parents and community advocates spoke during public forum June 26 to urge the Board of Education to seek alternatives to redistricting that would reassign K–12 students, saying the district could rebalance pre-K programs to schools with available capacity.

Cindy LaFollette, incoming PTAC liaison at Centennial Lane Elementary School (CLES) and a member of the Alliance for Neighborhood Schools, said her group launched a petition on May 20 that had collected more than 1,100 signatures by the board meeting. She urged the board and district to consider relocating pre-K rather than reassigning established K–12 students.

LaFollette told the board the 2025 Educational Facilities Master Plan mentions placing some CLES students in other schools in West Columbia, which she and others fear could overcrowd those receiving schools and prompt another round of redistricting. "Redistricting is premature and disruptive and does not solve the long-term need to provide quality pre-K programs to Howard County families," she said.

Rakesh Sheth, a Centennial Lane parent and former county child-protective-services investigator, called for the district to prioritize students' emotional and mental health and to explore alternatives including portable classrooms and rebalancing pre-K placement to neighborhood schools with capacity.

Board members did not take formal action on redistricting at the meeting. Speakers asked the board to direct Howard County Public Schools to review the petition and study pre-K relocation as a targeted strategy for relieving overcrowding at Centennial Lane and Bryant Woods elementary schools without disrupting K–12 peer networks.