Following an inquiry by the Department of Justice over a proposed boundary plan for the 12th high school in Prince William County, the school division will hold a public information session Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Hylton High School auditorium.
At this meeting, residents will be able to review a new boundary plan, refined to reflect several additional rounds of community input. The new plan was drafted by staff in response to DOJ concerns about the racial/ethnic breakdown of students who would have attended the new school when it opens September 2016.
"Residents expressed strong preferences about staying with currently assigned high schools or moving to the new one," Prince William County Schools posted on their website. "Other input focused on residents' desire to keep neighborhoods together, whichever schools students would attend. The requests combined with educational and transportation considerations to generate recommended boundary lines."
After seeking initial comments from PWCS, the DOJ wrote: "… figures suggest that the District's proposed attendance boundary modifications assign some students to a school other than the one closest to their home and have the effect of concentrating minority students in some schools while limiting the number of minority students assigned to others, including 12th high school."
The School Board postponed approval of the earlier proposals upon learning of DOJ concerns.
"PWCS Facilities Planning staff will alert communities particularly affected by changes from the original plan," they said. "Information on the revised proposal is on the School Board agenda for Nov. 5, with action on the proposal slated for the following meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18."
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