In other action during a marathon of meetings, the board overturned a plan to put Heather Ridge School on the same academic schedule as other schools and continued to discuss fiscal 2010 budget woes.

With the assistance of a geographic information system and the expertise of Matthew Cropper of Cropper GIS, board members and Frederick County Public Schools employees created the redistricting plans they hope will better use all schools. Previous plans would have some schools overcrowded while neighboring schools would be significantly under-enrolled.

Boundary maps will be posted to the schools website as soon as they are completed, probably during the week of May 4, officials said. The board will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. May 20 at 7630 Hayward Road. Residents unable to attend that meeting are encouraged to send written comments to ohsredistricting@fcps.org.

After reviewing feedback at its May 27 planning session, the board could make a final redistricting decision at the regular board meeting later that night, or delay the decision until its next board meeting.

Facing a shortfall of at least $7 million in next year's budget, the school board abandoned its effort to implement a 7.5-hour instruction day at Heather Ridge School, an alternative school for students with emotional and behavioral problems. Students are bused to their home schools, and then bused to Heather Ridge. That process is reversed in the afternoon. The transportation time cuts into the instruction day. Without sufficient funds to buy buses and add other instructional support, board members decided to hold off on the change until money is available.

Board members will meet today with the Frederick County Commissioners to continue discussing ways to close budget gaps anticipated for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

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