Parents berate boundary process, school board
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Construction crews work on the new Tomahawk Creek Middle School. The school will open for students this fall.

Last Thursday's meeting for public input on the revised Tomahawk Creek Middle School (TCMS) boundaries is a good indicator of why more people don't run for public office. Angry parents - feeling that their children don't have the full advantages of Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS) - did not pull their punches and were brutally frank in their comments during the public hearing at the Midlothian High School. Some of the opinions expressed were derogatory. In all, about 35 parents and students spoke.

At the end of the public comment period, School Board Chair Dianne Pettitt and Midlothian member Patty Carpenter promised another look at the proposed revisions. That conciliatory effort was met by parents who shouted their questions and comments from the audience. After the meeting ended, a number of parents came up on the stage to talk one-on-one with school board members.

Carpenter began the meeting apologizing for a flawed process. "It has worked well before but this time it did not," she said. She pledged a "thorough review…preventing it from happening again. [And] no [final] decisions [on the boundaries] have been made."

Tentatively, school officials are planning to move students from 19 neighborhoods, which were previously scheduled to go Midlothian Middle School. Students living in Armistead Village, Ashbrook Landing, Cedar Crossing, Clayborne Village, Cottage Mill, Hartley Village, Hawthorne Village, Leland Village, Mallory Village, Queensmill, Queensmill North, Rutherford Village, Sedwich Village, Somerville Grove, Tanner Village, The Pointe at Walton Park, Walton Bluff, Walton Lake and Worsham Green are now scheduled to go to TCMS.

Woodlake resident Sharon Ritter, who served on the Tomahawk boundary committee, placed much of the blame on the location of TCMS, a compromise struck in 2003 mostly at the insistence of former Midlothian Supervisor Ed Barber. "The committee is upset about how it's being portrayed," she complained. Ritter criticized stories about the committee printed in this newspaper and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The parents were mostly upset about being excluded from the process, being moved from Midlothian Middle, changing the peer groups of their children and dividing neighborhoods. Carpenter said she would see if Charter Colony children could be reunited at the same middle school instead of being split between TCMS and Midlothian Middle.

Sixth-grader Alexandra Salzer "didn't want Charter Colony to be split up." And she added, "I feel very unlucky and upset."

Vicky Taylor said her family is selling their Charter Colony home so they can move to the attendance zone for Midlothian Middle.

The revised plan doesn't affect the children of Robin Kotait, who lives in the Evergreen Elementary School attendance zone. Her neighborhood will still attend TCMS, but Evergreen students are split among Tomahawk, Midlothian and Bailey Bridge middle schools. "We have been ignored," she said.

PTA officials have claimed Evergreen was not contacted about serving on the Tomahawk boundary committee, but CCPS staffers said the school was contacted but did not nominate anyone.

One option for individual students is providing waivers to those wanting to transfer out of their attendance zone. Pettitt said no decision has been made yet on waivers from TCMS.

Carpenter said she had heard talk of transfers from Providence Middle School to Midlothian Middle, but she told the parents present there "were only about a dozen waivers." Waivers require parents to provide transportation to and from school for their children.

John Schultz, president of the Gordon Elementary School PTA, addressed the board, saying simply he wanted to thank them "for providing an excellent education."

Pettitt said the board revised the proposed boundaries because so many people complained TCMS wasn't providing enough overcrowding relief for nearby middle schools. The revised boundaries will put TCMS at 87 percent of capacity while Midlothian Middle (83 percent), Bailey Bridge Middle (95 percent) and Swift Creek Middle (97 percent) are all projected to be below capacity.

"We don't have a hidden agenda," assured Pettitt. "In hindsight, we understand the process wasn't perfect. It's tremendously challenging, and we've heard your concerns. We wish we could say 'yes' to all of you."

Superintendent Marcus Newsome indicated the final boundary decision is likely to be made at the Apr. 8 board meeting so CCPS can hire the necessary teachers.