Columbia County residents will be able to weigh in on rezoning

Wow. I had 836 students in my 1976 high school (Severna Park, MD) graduating class alone. Harlem High School is projected to have just 806. The halls will seem nearly empty at class change time.

It is interesting that Columbia county rezoning to make adjustments for growth in the county. This rezoning will cause the moving students from one area to another but will also help reduce overcrowding and reduce class size. Not one word was mentioned in the article about the money the system would save or have to spend because of this adjustment. Richmond County on the other hand, talks have been about a committee's recommendations that suggest the saving of millions of dollars over a specified number of years and closing certain schools. I have heard none of the RCBE say anything about rezoning to give relief to overcrowded schools or increase enrollment in under enrolled schools or what effect these closing will have on increasing the number of students who would have to be housed in other schools once these schools are closed. Seems like each county's focus is on something different...one appears to the focused on the concerns of the student and the other seems to focused elsewhere. Interesting!!!

I do not agree with the planned rezoning for several reasons. First is the quality of education is not at the same level as the school my child is currently enrolled at. Math and Reading proficiency of the students are 90% at Greenbrier Middle and 78.7% at Harlem Middle. The SAT scores of Harlem High are 137 points lower then Greenbrier High. Student were to be zoned for school closest to thier homes and that is not correct for my area because the new high school will be closer. The rezoning was stated at the meeting to balance the numbers enrolled in High school. No child should ever be considered a number they are living breathe people and deserve to receive the best education possible.