A new Beulah Elementary School set to open in the fall has resulted in redistricting of students who attend that school and others.
Last week, the Chesterfield County Public Schools board unanimously approved a redistricting for next year. The plan will relocate 65 students from Beulah to Hopkins elementaries. In addition, 99 students will move from Hopkins to Beulah, and Beulah will also pick up 44 from Ecoff and 23 from Salem Church elementaries.
The new Beulah School – which will be located at 5441 Beulah Road down the road from the old one – will have room for up to 900 students and eliminate the need for trailers, school district communications director Tim Bullis said. The current one has a capacity of 825 students.
“I’ve struggled with this a lot,” board chairman John Erbach said, adding that he has lost sleep over it, specifically because of the timing. He said that notice to parents came “very late,” adding that notification “should have been a lot sooner, but we can’t delay this any longer.” Ultimately, he concluded that it is the right thing to do for students.
During the May 14 meeting, Bullis said that two “engagement sessions” were held with parents at both Beulah and Hopkins schools recently. He said that for future redistricting, the district will notify parents in the fall of the year prior.
The district’s redrawn boundary map is “a cleaner piece of work,” Bullis said, noting that it no longer looks like a puzzle with jagged edges.
The district is providing waivers for students in grades K-4 so they can remain at their current school as long as room exists in the grade level and at the school. Parents of redistricted students would have to provide transportation.
