Anne Arundel County must delay redistricting of Crofton schools, judge rules

An Anne Arundel County judge on Monday disrupted the school system’s plan to redistrict some Crofton students this fall — at least for now.

Parents who oppose the redistricting plan formed a nonprofit and challenged their school district in court. The circuit court judge who considered their arguments granted a stay that temporarily blocks the district from reassigning their children to new schools.

“This is an important win,” Mike Chittenden, a leader of the One Crofton nonprofit, wrote on Facebook.

Hundreds of Crofton children were set to attend Arundel Middle and Arundel High starting this fall. Anne Arundel County school board members approved the plan in November after months of bitter community debate.

Now, the district is prohibited from reassigning any of those children until the court hears arguments on whether the Maryland State Board of Education erred in dismissing the parents’ December appeal of the redistricting plan.

The earliest that hearing will be held is in September, Chittenden wrote. The Banner could not immediately verify the timing of the next hearing.

Although the school district could move students once the school year begins, Crofton parents think this is unlikely, Chittenden added.

Darren Burns, the Anne Arundel County school board’s attorney, said in a statement that the district will abide by the stay. He said the court’s decision was not based on the merits of the case but rather whether the parents’ nonprofit could continue arguing its case.

“Given that this remains an ongoing legal proceeding, we have no further comment,” he added.

Coincidentally, an architect of the school redistricting plan at the heart of the court battle, William “Bill” Heiser, was on Monday named the next superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools.

Last year, Heiser, Anne Arundel’s chief operating officer, faced harsh criticism from Crofton students and parents who accused him of misunderstanding the link between school enrollment and state funding for school construction.

“This is why the community is having trouble believing what Dr. Heiser and his team are telling us,” one father said during a November board meeting.

Anne Arundel County Superintendent Mark Bedell later chastised Heiser’s critics for questioning the integrity, credentials and work ethic of his staff, and in the end, members of the Anne Arundel County school board voted to approve the plan.