CUMBERLAND – Impassioned parents upset over the prospect of their children being moved to new schools turned out last Thursday to urge the School Committee to rethink the latest version of redistricting.
Though several parents suggested there was a last-minute effort to hide deeply impactful changes, school officials said this was the first of many meetings to discuss this topic, and the opening maps from consultant Transpar are only the beginning of that process that will run into 2027.
After everyone spoke, Chairperson Amy Vogel said this item will be on every school board agenda from here on, for a process where maps are typically finalized in February or March.
Many speakers spoke of purchasing their homes because of the schools they would be near, and said the maps show them moving to new schools that are a lot farther away than their current school communities.
Lisa Connell, of Hines Road, said she’s very disappointed about the plans that, if carried out, would have her children move from Garvin Elementary School. This isn’t about B.F. Norton Elementary School being bad, she said, but about being able to send her children to the school that is .8 miles away, instead of 3.8 miles, and stay connected to a school community her family has a long history with.
One of the reasons they chose their home was their connection to the school, she added, and this will impact her three children and family for years to come.
“This simply does not make sense to me,” said Connell, adding that she doesn’t know why school officials can’t consider varying options as they did during previous redistricting deliberations.
Connell urged the committee to look beyond lines on a map to actual neighborhoods, distances, families affected, and the connection to communities children have.
James Twohey, of Millersbrook Drive, said they’re zoned for Garvin and his daughter started kindergarten that day. The map shows them being reassigned to B.F. Norton, said Twohey, who urged the board to adopt certain provisions, such as grandfathering in already enrolled students who have developed friendships, routines, and trust relationships with adults. This isn’t a minor inconvenience to disrupt their lives, he said, as this type of move has shown to increase anxiety and lower literacy development. He said officials should weigh that cost.
Twohey also listed areas B.F. Norton performs lower on, including ELA, math, and chronic absenteeism, questioning why his family should have to be moved to lower-performing school that’s 2.2 miles away instead of .9 miles away. Please weigh proximity and walkability, said Twohey.
Emily Synan, of Rolling Acres Drive and whose family is part of the Cumberland Hill Elementary School community and be moved to Ashton Elementary, said their specific neighborhood shouldn’t have to move multiple times in a few years. She said they’re being asked to create instability for their families and reshuffle their whole routine again, even as it took her daughter on an individualized education plan three years to gain confidence and trust with teachers.
If overcrowding is an issue, she said, what about considering alternative solutions rather than disrupting the routines and stability of families across Cumberland.
Numerous other parents spoke along similar themes, saying they’ve invested so much into the schools they’re in only to face being moved to unfamiliar surroundings and urging the committee to make exceptions for students who are already in a school as well as siblings.
Several also questioned spending $80,000 on a study.
Vogel countered the suggestions of a short or sneaky process by saying they’ve been talking about the redistricting of 2027-2028 since redistricting of 2022-2023. Last year, she said, they decided to hire a consultant to bring order to the process. This is the first preliminary meeting on the draft map, she said, and there will be a lot of meetings over the coming year.
“This is a very long process,” she said.
Vogel also noted that during previous redistricting, students in certain grades were allowed to stay in their existing school.
The chairperson said there was nothing secretive about this process, and anyone can get notices of meeting agendas sent directly to them from the Office of the Secretary of State. Files on specific matters are also found within the School Committee’s online folder.
Committee member Jason Dean then went to the public input podium to thank everyone for coming and tell those in attendance not to rely on meeting agendas but to go to Facebook where he’ll continue to inform the public about what’s happening. Most of what happens with the school board is in front of an empty room, including initiatives that take away parents’ rights, he said, urging people to get involved and get out there and vote.
Member Andrew Bacon said he’s also very troubled by the plan as someone who would be impacted by it. He said these can’t be the only options, as put on display with a five-minute discussion on start times where a whole new scenario came about. He said he’d like the committee to come up with a scenario that works for everyone.
Supt. Philip Thornton gave his cell phone number out for anyone who has any question about the process or the maps. He said they’re not hiding anything or scheming to save money, but this is all about balancing the schools. B.F. Norton will be able to hold 575 students, he said, and only about 380 currently go there. Growth is happening across town, he said, and this remains a tricky situation. He said the middle schools are also way out of balance, with 60 or so students needing to move from North Cumberland Middle School to McCourt Middle School “to give breathing room.”
After a presentation by a representative from Transpar, school officials asked the company to come back next time with specific street names spelled out on the maps.
