Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) held its first community meeting on school boundary redistricting Tuesday evening. Three draft boundary maps were presented to address school capacity and utilization issues across the district.
More than 300 individuals participated online, with dozens more attending in person at Alexandria City High School, as district officials and consultants explained the redistricting process that began in July 2023.
“This is just a first step of a long journey to address these issues,” School Board member Christopher Harris told attendees. “We’re going to have redrawing of the lines. In addition to that, we’re going to take a look at some of the policies that influence capacity utilization.”
The redistricting effort aims to balance student enrollment, address overutilization in certain schools, and ensure all students have access to equitable resources and opportunities.
School Board Vice Chair Kelly Carmichael Booz, who chairs the Redistricting Steering Committee, acknowledges the challenges ahead.
“Redistricting can be a challenging conversation, and we want to make sure that we are doing everything necessary to ensure that our schools and decisions that we make will serve students effectively for years to come,” she said.
The meeting revealed significant capacity issues at several schools, particularly on the west side of Alexandria. Patrick Henry K-8 currently operates at 152% capacity based on resident population, while Samuel Tucker Elementary is at 122% capacity.
Dr. Lance Richards from MGT Consulting, the firm hired to assist with the redistricting process, explains that the district faces competing priorities in redrawing boundaries.
“Not one of those things gets to be the overriding principle. All of these things pull against one another,” Richards said, referring to the guiding principles adopted by the school board in December 2024.
These principles include equitable school utilization, maintaining neighborhood schools, demographic alignment, capacity and utilization focus, and minimizing bus dependency.
Isaac Johnson, also from MGT Consulting, presented three draft boundary scenarios – labeled as the Green, Blue, and Purple plans – each taking different approaches to solving the utilization problems.
“The first thing we did was we showed the steering committee a couple of draft scenarios,” Johnson explained. “We’re trying to solve for the capacity utilization issues that we see on the highly populated West End in particular.”
All three plans would reduce utilization at Patrick Henry K-8 and Samuel Tucker Elementary by shifting attendance boundaries. The plans differ in how they distribute students to other schools.
The Green Plan focuses on solving utilization challenges while emphasizing neighborhood schools.
The Blue Plan solves utilization issues but moves students further from their neighborhood schools.
The Purple Plan attempts to address utilization issues at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary while also considering future grade configuration changes at Jefferson Houston.
Johnson emphasized that these are only draft plans.
“We have no idea where this is actually going to end up,” he said. “But I know that the data is going to take us there.”
After the presentations, attendees broke into small groups to provide feedback on the proposed maps. They later participated in a live polling session to gauge their understanding of the process and their thoughts on the boundary maps.
Poll results show that about 45% of attendees feel very informed about the redistricting process, with approximately three-quarters understanding that addressing utilization in certain schools is the primary reason for redistricting.
However, many expressed concerns about the proposed changes, with a significant number indicating they are not clear about how the boundary maps would affect their neighborhoods.
Chief of Student Services and Equity Dr. Marcia Jackson emphasized that this is just the beginning of the community engagement process.
“We will have two opportunities tonight to hear from you,” Jackson told attendees. “We’ll have an opportunity to hear from you after MGT speaks and our board members speak through a small group discussion of the current maps. And then we’ll have an additional opportunity at the very end through a questionnaire.”
The school board plans to hold 10 meetings where community members can provide in-person comments before making a final decision on June 12, 2025. The new boundaries will go into effect at the start of the 2026-27 school year.
The next community engagement meeting is scheduled for April 22, and additional Redistricting Advisory Committee meetings are scheduled for March 19 and April 8.
Community members who couldn’t attend the meeting can email questions or feedback to [email protected] or visit the School Boundary Redistricting webpage for more information.
