Union County School Board approves redistricting reversal

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — The Union County School Board passed a plan 8-1 Tuesday night affecting where thousands of students will go to school.

Board members said it impacts 4,400 students and lines should not change again for about five to seven years. The plan passed with several amendments, which were introduced last week after community input.

The goal is to have more students go to their neighborhood schools, make transportation more efficient and establish clear feeder patterns.

[LINK to Map]

Several parents left the meeting pleased, while others were upset.

Some parents speaking on specific concerns with realignment plan @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/messuWogFu
— Elsa Gillis (@ElsaWSOC9) March 7, 2018

One parent said his small neighborhood has been speaking out against redistricting since learning they could be affected.

"We just feel like we were not even acknowledged,” parent Danny Allen said. “There (were) 18 amendments brought up. We were not even one of them. We are at Cuthbertson School since the day it started and we don’t understand the board’s decision."

Another father said this will be the fourth time his neighborhood has switched schools.

"You're not even going to school with your next door neighbor anymore, so it's really, really unfortunate and frustrating," said Steve Sciortino.

Vice Chairman Gary Sides said he knows it's difficult for families to be moved around but he said that they had to make tough decisions to ensure they had something sustainable in place.

"What we tried to do was a process as transparent as possible, involving professionals, involving the citizens themselves," Sides said.

Over the next few weeks, district staff said they'll work on maps and other resources related to their decision and will keep parents updated on when that's available.

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