Parents complain about possible school switch

About 20 Meadowbrook High School parents complained to school officials last night about a plan to move some Meadowbrook students to L.C. Bird High School next fall.

Under a redistricting proposal put forth by the Chesterfield County school system, about 100 students from Ampthill Gardens, Kingsland Glen and Kings Forest neighborhoods would be transferred to Bird, which is undergoing an expansion slated to be completed in the spring.

The renovation will add eight classrooms to Bird, plus labs and an engineering wing.

Students who would be seniors at Meadowbrook next fall will be exempt from moving.

A School Board member, two administration officials and principals from Meadowbrook and Bird attended the hourlong meeting in the Meadowbrook auditorium.

Parents asked why Meadowbrook, which has about 400 more students than its 1,540-student capacity, could not build more space, why students who live closer to Bird were not being moved, how the three neighborhoods were picked for the redistricting proposal and whether the plan was a done deal.

One parent expressed concern about reports of gangs at Bird. Another parent complained about last night's meeting being held during a holiday week, which she said may have resulted in a low turnout.

"I'm fuming," said Tisha Jenkins. "We're right down the street. I have two other kids I was hoping would come to Meadowbrook. It looks like this is a done deal. You're not listening to us."

"This is not set in stone," School Board member David Wyman said. "We knew that people were not going to be happy."

When the $4.5 million expansion at Bird is complete, enrollment will be at 92 percent of capacity and the feeder pattern to the school is declining, Wyman said.

However, the school administration's central office projects that Meadowbrook is expected to grow by about 240 students during the next five years. That would bring enrollment to 141 percent of the complex's capacity unless some students are transferred elsewhere.

School officials are thinking about adding more space to Meadowbrook, but the question is when that can be done, Wyman said. Also, another school is planned eventually between Matoaca and Thomas Dale high schools, and some Meadowbrook students would be moved there, he said.

The reason other neighborhoods closer to Bird were not chosen for the redistricting is that there are future plans to move some of those students to a school other than Bird, Wyman said.

Thomas E. Ferrell Jr., Meadowbrook's principal, told parents he was happy their children did not want to move but said Bird is also a great school.

Wyman told the parents, "We'll take back your suggestions and we'll see if one comes out stronger than another."

School officials plan to schedule another meeting on the topic for a Saturday in December.
Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or