Comments from Brian Wheeler to

Albemarle County School Board on Redistricting

October 10, 2005

The following are the prepared remarks I brought and read at the October 10, 2005 School Board meeting to explain my vote on the redistricting decision.  I read them almost verbatim during discussion of two separate motions.

First, Pam Moynihan and Sue Friedman moved that the School Board approve the Superintendent's original July 14, 2005 redistricting plan.  During discussion of that motion, Steve Koleszar moved to amend the plan by adding areas 4 & 7 from Meriwether to send them to the Albemarle HS feeder pattern.  I seconded that amendment and made the first section of comments below to support it.  That amendment motion  failed 2-5 (Koleszar & Wheeler voting in favor). 

Then I voted AGAINST the final redistricting proposal put forward by my colleagues (the Superintendent's original plan WITHOUT Crozet and Northfields adjustments) because in my view it was indefensible (it passed 6-1, Wheeler voting against) and I made the second set of comments to support that vote.

Comments on Amendment to Add Areas 4 & 7 which Failed 2-5

The redistricting plan I would like to see approved is one that resolves the Meriwether split in a way that strengthens neighborhood schools. Without moving more of Meriwether to the Albemarle HS feeder pattern, this proposal in my opinion is fatally flawed. Since the public hearing, staff have told us they do not oppose this adjustment and stated “we did not intend to say that AHS could not handle these areas 4 and 7 from Meriwether.”

Dr. Castner’s plan is a good plan, staff have made recommendations in Crozet and at Woodbrook to improve it that have my support. I would vote in favor of the plan that went to public comment if we added areas 4 & 7 from Meriwether, as approved by the Redistricting Committee.

A vote in support of this amendment [to add areas 4 & 7]

Some of you have told me I worry too much about class size at Murray and not enough about Albemarle. Am I being inconsistent? Not at all… with these changes we are talking about 8.3 students per year being added to AHS coming out of Jouett. If you figure out the percentage and apply that to Murray, it is 1.2 students by comparison. Would I support a redistricting plan that made good long range sense and added 1.2 students to Murray? In a second.

For ALL these reasons, the greater good is achieved with a plan that redistricts more of Meriwether to Albemarle High School.

Staff said initially they prefer a wait and see approach. The problem with that in my book is it leaves a cloud of uncertainty over these neighborhoods AND it redistricts them to Henley from Jouett. Then it identifies them as neighborhoods to be moved back by staff when Albemarle’s expansion is completed in 2009. I have been consistently opposed to redistricting Meriwether in a way that may result in that ping pong effect, out to WESTERN today, in to Albemarle tomorrow. That is poor planning. It is going to lead to more angst down the road and more attendance appeals. Yes, the majority of the residents in these areas don’t mind that uncertainty, they want to roll the dice and give their children a chance to attend Western Albemarle. If you find those comments persuasive, then shouldn’t we give everyone that option to wait and see what happens? If you favor listening to the customers, then why isn’t this a direct democracy for all parts of the County including those other parts of Meriwether?

Instead, I look for a plan that makes good long range sense for ALL our communities, that’s something we are elected to look for, even when families impacted by such a plan can’t see the wisdom in that decision.

Then the School Board's discussion moved to the original motion which was to approve the Superintendent's original proposal.  I made the next set of remarks explaining why I would vote against the motion.

Comments on Main Redistricting Proposal which Passed 6-1

I am going to vote against this redistricting plan, and it sounds like once again I will be the only person voting this way. I am sure that frustrates some of my colleagues who wanted a unanimous decision, but others of you have observed is takes some courage to stand by strongly held convictions, and that is what I promised the voters I would do. If the chair will indulge me, I’d like to spend a few minutes explaining my vote, because I think the public deserves to know as much as possible about our thinking on this important decision.

I did a search on Google that was for the following words:

lessons in humility, school redistricting

Would you believe of the over 9,200 hits the number one item was a story about redistricting in Albemarle County schools in 1993. It was written by a mediator who used the Sutherland middle school redistricting as a case study in conflict resolution.

What got me searching for insights on humility was a bible verse:

Matthew 23:12
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

I want to talk about humility, not humility we might possess before a God, but rather humility before an immense community challenge like redistricting.

Have we heard from the more humble voices in our community? Not so many. The voices we do hear from stop talking once their neighborhood is removed from consideration. Human nature I guess, but it requires us as a School Board to think carefully about the voices beyond those in public hearings and households with social capital to spend freely influencing decisionmakers. I believe this School Board’s job is also to consider the desires of the larger community too. The communities that might be on the receiving end of a redistricted neighborhood.

I have seen the best and worst of people in this past year of redistricting.

I have seen members of the committee fight for what they believe is in the best interests of the community as a whole and for a long range plan that offers stability in our feeder patterns. I thank them for their hard work.

I have seen parents from my children’s schools send me emails telling me THEY put me in office, THEY can take me away. They have told me I am putting their children’s lives at risk if the school bus has to travel on I-64 to Monticello instead of Route 250 to Western. They have told me their neighborhood is really the entire Western Albemarle HS feeder pattern and I better not mess with that. Of course I also get the emails right after a Board meeting asking me when I am up for re-election.

That comes with being a School Board member. Parents are very passionate about their children. I know, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel strongly about our children, all our children.

Yet, at times like this, some people can’t look beyond their own families. Others CAN look beyond themselves, but they struggle to understand why we are doing this at all. The criteria are not clear to them. I understand that frustration.

Lessons in humility…

Others on the Committee came into this process expecting to fill a Southern Elementary and thought neighborhoods would understand they needed to move to fill a new school. We learned nobody wants to leave their current school.

Others came into the redistricting process thinking we could solve challenges of diversity. They learned that is rarely possible in a County like Albemarle.

Four members of this School Board participated in VSBA leadership conference this past Friday. The speaker was Eileen Kugler a parent, author and communications consultant who has worked extensively in Fairfax County schools. Ms. Kugler talked about diversity as a gift we can give all our children. Her daughter attended Annandale High School at a time it was going through huge changes in its demographics because of growing immigrant communities. The buzz in the backyards--"You don't really want your kid to go to that school do you?"

Sound familiar? Lessons in humility…

I had lunch recently with a business leader in the community. This person grew up in our public schools and their children attend our schools today. I shared with this leader our school division’s new goal of creating a world class school system. They said that would never happen. They had been to Albemarle HS and seen “those people” in the classroom.

Lessons in humility…

Ms. Kugler learned she DID want her daughter at Annandale and that their family, and their community, would be a better as a result. Diversity became Annandale's strength. It wasn't always that way, and it took a lot of community engagement to make this diversity work to their advantage. They also had to bust the myths that Annandale was something less than what it used to be when it was all white middle-class students. In fact, it was something even better.

As the At-Large member of the Board and someone in John Baker’s seat, I feel a special responsibility to ensure we make decisions that strengthen our schools and bring the community together. I know that belief is shared by many of you too and I recognize our path to get there may be different.

As the redistricting plans have unfolded over this past year, it has become very clear to me that we have some significant work to do on this front in Albemarle County. Fortunately, our new goals and strategic plan reflect a stronger emphasis on community engagement and diversity.

Tonight we had an opportunity to walk the talk. I think we COULD HAVE made improvements to this plan that strengthened our neighborhood schools. This is one opportunity we shouldn’t have passed up. As a result, I will not vote for this redistricting proposal.