School board pushes back decision on redistricting until September

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) –  Students in New Hanover County high schools will not have to worry about being at a different school come next August. School board members have delayed redistricting.

A 6-1 vote has delayed the decision until next fall. Board members, and some parents,  were ready to approve this redistricting, but the board overall wants more time.

In their final meeting, the board heard mixed emotions on the plan.

“By making these students transfer in the middle of their careers, you are creating more risk factors for them,” said Deidre Condon who moved her family here from New York to attend high school in New Hanover County.

“I would be very excited to be redistricted from Laney to New Hanover,” said Jill Stockman referring to having her kids attend the other school. She lives in the Landfall neighborhood.

The board was divided on many points to the plan. Superintendent Tim Markley was in favor of moving it along considering the work they’ve already put it. Board member David Worthman was also keen to move forward and provide solutions for the parents and students of schools like Laney and Ashley that have student overcrowding.  It was the options to exempt some high schoolers and their siblings that led to a hold on voting in the end.

“Please extend the junior senior privilege down to the rising sophomore as well,” Crystal Morgan requested in front of the board in their Tuesday night meeting.

“When you look at junior-senior privilege, you look at sibling privilege, and you look at signature program privilege, I’m not sure what other privileges that would come up but when the smoke clears and the dust settled I don’t know if we would have moved anyone,” said board member Don Hayes echoing what he said as the board was weighing Option 1b of the redistricting plan.

The plan would move 782, roughly 10% of the student body, around the high schools.
After the decision, parents calling it a small victory, others see it as delaying responsibility.

“I am very disappointed that the vote is being delayed,” said Gina Fimbel who spoke at the first public meeting on redistricting and has children in the school district. “I also feel that we’ve done so much work, I mean they’ve gotten comment after comment from parents, email after email from parents and I mean it is true you’re not going to make everyone happy, but I feel like to do delay the vote just feels like a step backwards.”

Board members will vote in September. In between then, they would like to see the numbers of students who would stay given the privileges.