RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) –It has been a tough task trying to determine where thousands of children in the city of Richmond will go to school. A small volunteer committee has taken on the job of rezoning the city's schools. It's a project that hasn't been handled in decades and it could result in some neighborhood schools closing down.
The committee--with help from parents, teachers and the community--has been working to balance attendance and overcrowding affecting may of Richmond's public schools.
In March the parents and teachers were given four different rezoning plans, but the field has been narrowed down to two. At danger is the possibility of combining or closing two schools, Summer Hill and John B. Cary Elementary Schools.
"We have have mixed reviews, of course, over the past few months," said rezoning committee chair Shonda Harris-Muhammed. "The closer we became to making a decision on the options that we have or had in the past, more families and more schools became more vocal."
The committee will meet privately on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. However public hearings will resume on May 29 and 31, before the Richmond Public School Board is set to vote on a rezoning proposal June 18, 2012.
The changes could go into effect for the upcoming school year, or in time for the beginning of 2013.
