BEDFORD CO., Va. – Bedford County School Board members heard from concerned parents Tuesday night as they weighed a proposal to move roughly 40 students from Forest Elementary to Otter River Elementary to address overcrowding.
The plan, which would redraw attendance boundaries between the two schools, comes as Forest Elementary approaches capacity. According to school officials, the building is currently at 96% capacity. Otter River Elementary, meanwhile, has space for 300 students and is projected to enroll 163 students in the next academic year.
While the district framed the move as a way to balance enrollment, many parents who attended the meeting were not convinced — raising concerns about transportation, class sizes and how students with additional needs would be supported during the transition.
“It’s going to add a lot of burden to parents and students who are then going to be stuck on a bus whereas before they could just go for a nice fresh air walk home,” said Janelle Racine, a Bedford County Schools parent.
Transportation was a recurring theme throughout the meeting. Some parents questioned whether the district had the resources to take on new bus routes at all.
“There are already issues with transportation. One of their recommendations was that they would bus the students but I’m just trying to figuring out how that’s possible because they are already having issues finding people to transport the children that are already bussed in that area,” said Jacquelyn Atkinson, a Bedford County Public Schools parent.
School officials walked families through the proposal and outlined the district’s timeline and planned supports. Still, many parents left with unanswered questions about bus schedules, how classrooms would be reorganized and which staff members would follow students to the new school.
District 3 School Board Member Steven Hill explained the reasoning behind looking at these two schools specifically.
“We’re looking at how to alleviate pressure from that school. It’s at 96% capacity, so in order to do that, we looked at where the easiest way to redraw those lines was,” Hill said.
A final vote is scheduled for June 11. The board told families they would receive more detailed plans before that vote.