Dublin City Schools unveiled draft maps for redistricting of four elementary and four middle schools in the northeast part of the district during a public forum Monday evening.
Held at Dublin Jerome High School, a stone’s throw from a new elementary school under construction, hundreds of parents filed into the auditorium to hear about the new maps.
Just over 1,000 elementary students and 364 middle schoolers would be required to go to different schools.
Here’s why redistricting is happening, which schools are affected and what some parents think about the proposed maps.
Which schools are affected by redistricting?
According to the draft maps presented at the forum, boundaries for four existing elementary schools and four middle schools would be changed.
Boundaries for Glacier Ridge, Deer Run, Depp and Pinney elementary schools are slated to be shifted, as well as for four out of five of the district’s middle schools: Eversole Run, Grizzell, Karrer and Sells.
For the new Bishop Elementary School, most of the students would come out of the zone for Glacier Ridge Elementary, with some coming from the zone for Deer Run.
Then boundaries need to be shifted to fill the space at Glacier Ridge and other schools in the district.
“A domino effect happens — sometimes students are moving from an existing school to another existing school to maximize utilization,” said Matt Cropper,founder and president of the consulting firm working on the maps.
Cropper said that considerations in redistricting are using all the available facility space, diversity of schools, proximity to homes whenever practical, maximizing efficiency of busing, creating contiguous zones, allowing for future growth, establishing clear feeder patterns, and using existing roads and natural boundaries to create the districts.
Why is redistricting happening in Dublin?
The impetus for redistricting is the rapid growth in Dublin, especially in the northeastern part of the district. Boundaries need to be redrawn because a new elementary school is coming online next fall.
Dublin is known to have one of the best education systems in central Ohio. Superintendent John Marshhausen, Ph.D., emphasized that families seek out the district, not particular schools.
“When you moved to Dublin, you moved into the Dublin school system. We've got pride in all of our buildings, and you'll get a Dublin quality education in all of our elementary, middle and high schools,” Marshhausen said.
The district is not allowing parents to opt out of the redistricting plans.
What some parents think about the proposed maps
Stephanie O’Donnell is a parent as well as a realtor in Dublin. While none of her kids will have to change schools, O’Donnell pushed back on Marschhausen’s assertion that some families have been holding off on buying a home until school boundaries were announced.
A small group of elementary student dads, who all live in the Waterford Village subdivision, told The Dispatch how they appreciate how all the students at Indian Run Elementary would all go to the same middle school under the draft plan.
The dads said they help out by coaching neighborhood sports teams, but the students do well when they can stick together from elementary to middle school.
“It's beyond sports — it's helping your kids foster young relationships that will just continue, and that (they) have a support system throughout school,” said Ethan Goldberg.
Jessica Marer, the co-president of the PTA at Depp Elementary, has a first grade student who would go to Glacier Ridge under the current proposal. But that doesn’t really bother her.
“All the schools in Dublin are great — I'm not worried about that,” Marer said.
What's next for redistricting in Dublin?
The maps that were presented are drafts and not the final plan, district officials said.
People can share feedback on an online survey from Oct. 21 to Nov. 3, then a recommendation will be made to the board of education on Dec. 9.
Marschhausen said that he’s addressing negative feedback from some affected families by emphasizing how the district needs to adjust to ensure every child gets a “Dublin education” in a “classroom that isn’t overcrowded.”
“I am very confident that all of our kids and families — if you come talk to them by October of next year when they're in their new buildings — everybody will love their school,” Marschhausen said.
High school redistricting is slated to start next fall. The school district is planning to build an expansion to Scioto High School to accommodate hundreds of additional students.
More: How Dublin City Schools plans to redraw school boundaries over the next year
awinfrey@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Dublin City Schools unveils draft maps for elementary and middle school redistricting
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