In recent weeks, Towson Families United has been contacted regarding two unfounded rumors.

First, some parents have heard that Riderwood Elementary is experiencing a huge growth in enrollment due to transfers from Rodgers Forge Elementary.  The rumor is that a large number of RFES 4th graders have transferred, hoping to avoid the temporary annexation to Dumbarton Middle this year.

This rumor is “completely wrong,” according to RFES Principal Susan Deise. “If children are leaving, it is news to me, but they are not receiving transfers to Riderwood,” Mrs. Deise reports.  In order to transfer, parents would have had to receive “special permission,” which would be unlikely because Riderwood is already overcapacity.  The deadline for requesting such permission was June 1st, and Mrs. Deise said she didn’t receive, or sign, one request.

The second rumor is that decisions have already been made on the redistricting that will happen when West Towson Elementary School opens next year.

“It is truly a rumor,” Mrs. Deise confirms.  BCPS is in the process of forming a Boundary Study Committee of parents, teachers, administrators and other representatives of the schools and communities involved.  That committee won’t even meet for the first time until October, after the school system’s September enrollment projections are published.

Mrs. Deise said parents wanting more information on redistricting should read Board of Education Policy 1280, which is available on the Board’s website, and which we are attaching to this post.  It lays out specific steps that must take place in order to ensure that the decisions made are in the best interest of students.

“The Board recognizes the importance of community involvement in the educational process,” the document states.

We hope this information is useful to Towson parents.  Please spread the word to anyone you think may be interested.  As new information becomes available, we’ll be sure to post it here.

Read the Board of Ed procedures for redistricting: Policy 1280.pdf