Freedom Area Redistricting

Freedom Elementary Redistricting Status (February 2021)

At its January 13, 2021 business meeting, the Board of Education held a discussion during the Enrollment Projections item regarding the status of the Freedom Elementary Redistricting Committee (FERC) relative to the impact the pandemic has had on 2020-21 student enrollment. That discussion was revisited during a joint session with the Carroll County Commissioners on January 21, 2021.

The following key points were discussed:

The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on student enrollment. Across the state, public school enrollment declined by 33,000 students. In CCPS our decline was over 700 students;
The unprecedented one-year shift in enrollment leaves us with decisions on how to approach future enrollment projections and the status of FERC;
The FERC and the Board need solid data on which to decide any potential boundary adjustment plan, which may well be taken on appeal;
We know that our enrollment data is skewed for 2020-21 and at this point may only make our best educated estimate on how to predict 2021-22 enrollment; and
Likewise, we know that our two options for a GIS data file on which to construct a boundary adjustment plan are also skewed.

Following the discussion, the Board endorsed a staff recommendation for how to incorporate this year’s enrollment into future projections. The Board’s discussion ended with the FERC process being held until Fall 2020 actual enrollment figures can be examined.

Freedom Elementary Redistricting Committee Status (May 2020)

Carroll County Public Schools understands that potential redistricting can bring uncertainty and concern. We are committed to open communication throughout this entire process. Please be assured that we will keep you informed of every step along the way.

We have created this webpage in an effort to keep you as informed as possible. Here you will find information about the process, the timeline, and the work of the committee, as well as background material and, ultimately, the committee’s report.

The Board of Education asked the Superintendent to form a committee to explore redistricting options in the Southeast Area to alleviate overcrowding at Freedom Elementary when it adopted the most recent Educational Facilities Master Plan in July 2019. Click here to review the action and the supporting background information in the Plan.

The decision to form a committee to explore options is based on the current and projected future enrollment of Freedom Elementary School and several Board of Education policies and administrative regulations, which may be reviewed by clicking on the links below:

Enrollment Projections in the Educational Facilities Master Plan

Board Policy FB Adequate Facilities

Administrative Regulations FB Adequate Facilities

Board Policy JCAA Boundary Adjustments

Administrative Regulations JCAA Boundary Adjustments

Process

Based on the Board’s approval of the Educational Facilities Master Plan, the Superintendent appointed a committee to explore redistricting options to alleviate overcrowding at Freedom Elementary. The committee, which includes staff, a parent representative from Freedom and nearby elementary schools, and representatives from Carroll County Government, began meeting in October 2019.

The committee will follow the factors and guidelines in Board policy and administrative regulations JCAA. The committee will have about a full year to meet and deliberate. Policy and administrative regulations require a report to be presented to the Board by September 2020. If the committee makes recommendations for specific redistricting of students, those recommendations will be communicated in multiple ways and at least two public hearings will be held prior to any final Board action. These requirements are dictated in the policy and administrative regulations:

“Notification for two public hearings shall be provided at the time of presentation to the Board of Education, via school newsletters, via the Carroll County Public Schools website, written press, and eschool newsletters or other electronic notification method employed by CCPS at the time.