Western Henrico groups protest school-zone options

By Lisa Crutchfield

Published: January 7, 2009

-- The distance from the northern tip of the Canterbury subdivision to Mills E. Godwin High School is just over a half-mile.

So neighborhood residents were surprised to learn that two out of the three options proposed by a Henrico County school redistricting committee would send students who live in Canterbury to Douglas Freeman High School, about 3 miles away.

Tonight more than 60 residents of Canterbury and several other communities near the crossroads of Pump and Gayton roads gathered to walk to a public forum at Godwin. They wanted to give tangible evidence that Godwin is their neighborhood school -- one that their children should continue to attend.

"I really like the idea of my children being able to walk to school," said Marie Hess.

Braving soggy weather, the group marched north on Pump Road, picking up more supporters along the way.

"I feel like we're part of the Godwin community," said Canterbury resident Liz Farber.

Conor Coleman, a seventh-grader at Byrd Middle School, can't imagine going to Freeman, though he thinks it's a fine school. "We've always wanted to go to Godwin," he said.

At the high school, the group joined about 1,500 other community members to peruse maps and hear updates on Henrico's redistricting efforts, the largest in the county's history. Many were wearing badges identifying their subdivisions and showing their solidarity in protesting some of the proposals.

Tonight's meeting was the third and final where the public could submit written comments. Employees of Henrico schools and Cropper GIS, the firm hired to facilitate the effort, are transcribing each comment for a 70-member committee to consider during the next several months.

Updated maps and options will be presented before a second round of community forums March 9, 10 and 11. Final recommendations will go to the School Board in April, and the board will vote on the final boundary changes at its May meeting.

More than 750 people attended Monday's meeting at Hermitage High School and about 200 attended Tuesday's at Elko Middle School.

Henrico school officials and School Board members said they were glad about the large turnout.

Jeff Franz, chairman of the high school redistricting subcommittee, stressed that none of the maps presented this week is a final draft.

"There are things we can still do mathematically that make sense," he said. But overall, he's said he's pleased with the appreciation that most community members have shown for the hours of work the committees have put in.

"Some people are disappointed, but they're still respectful," he said. "When we entered this, we knew it would be emotional when the maps came out."

The maps and calculations used to create the redistricting options can be found on the schools' Web site, http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/boundaries/redistricting.html.

Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or