VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The Virginia Beach School Board voted to move hundreds of students from their current schools. It’s all part of their redistricting plan, which has proved to be a contentious topic for some parents.
A lot of the debate at Tuesday night’s meeting surrounded three elementary schools: Cooke Elementary, Seatack Elementary and Birdneck Elementary.
According to the Virginia Beach City Schools’ website , here are the number of students impacted by the redistricting at the three schools:
- 95 students will move from Cooke to Seatack.
- 66 students will move from Birdneck to Seatack
- 145 students will move from Seatack to Birdneck
The board did add one exception to the proposal. The number of students moving from Cooke to Seatack was proposed as 112. About 18 students in the Salt Meadow Bay Apartments, Linkhorn Crest Condos and Woodbury Forest Apartments will not be moved. After a vote by the school board, those students will stay at their current school, Cooke.
Parents from Cooke, which is located off Mediterranean Avenue, believed the move made no sense, citing distance from the neighborhood as the issue. Right now, students live just blocks from their school. Seatack, located off Birdneck Road, is almost four miles away.
Several families even hired Attorney Kevin Martingayle to represent them. Martingayle told WAVY.com on the phone that the Department of Justice could be looking into the matter if the school board does approve the plan.
But, the board was forced to move forward with the redistricting because Cooke is more than 100 students over capacity. The Beach Schools’ website says both Seatack and Birdneck are under capacity.
Seatack Elementary was last rezoned 12 years ago.
The board admitted the process is always tough, and everyone can’t be pleased.
In total, students from 10 Virginia Schools will be affected by the redistricting. Other elementary schools affected are: Brookwood, Lynnhaven, Malibu, Green Run and Landstown. Plus, 18 students will be moved from Lynnhaven Middle School to Virginia Beach Middle School.
By WAVY.com
March 21,2012