Illustration by Sam Prowse
Matthew Cropper, president of the company hired to assist the Richmond and Henrico County public school systems with assessing the districts’ needs and rearranging attendance boundaries to better meet them, wants all parents and interested residents to understand one thing: “No map is final until the school board approves a plan.”
Before that, all maps are considered drafts, he adds. Cropper’s observation is useful for the thousands of area families watching and waiting to see what rezoning (Richmond’s term) or redistricting (Henrico’s term) means for their particular household.
In Richmond, the goal of rezoning is to “improve the academic experience of all students,” according to the school district’s information page dedicated to the process. The district aims to streamline transportation while observing “natural” boundaries; increase student diversity; alleviate overcrowding with a goal of eliminating instructional trailers; and plan for future growth and shifts in population.
As the school year got underway, much discussion surrounded proposed pairings of Richmond elementary schools from neighborhoods that traditionally don’t share elementary student populations, such as Fox and Carver, Munford and Cary, and Ginter Park and Holton. Some families applaud the approach, which would move toward equalizing black-white population distributions, while others say they want children to be able to walk to a neighborhood school. The Richmond School Board is expected to review proposals in November, with new zones in place for the 2020-21 school year.
In Henrico, redistricting is meant to address issues of overcrowding, as well as current and projected population growth. The district’s goals include efficient use of space, especially at schools that are being expanded or replaced with new construction — Holladay Elementary and Highland Springs and Tucker high schools — and “reducing concentrations of poverty while balancing a community or neighborhood school concept.”
Cropper’s company, Cropper GIS (for geographic information systems), has worked with both districts for more than a decade, consulting on full-scale redistricting in Henrico in 2009 and Richmond in 2011, as well as smaller adjustments since then. It’s useful for a school system to look outside for guidance, Matthew Cropper says.
“One of the biggest advantages of having a consultant is having that objective perspective,” he says, adding that geographic information systems — detailed maps loaded with data — serve as the starting point for every project. “We like to have decisions being made based off data and information. We have to focus on the [school system’s] objectives.”
Still, Cropper notes, it’s essential to have community input.
“You try to have the process of evaluating boundaries as open and transparent as possible, so people understand how [the] process results in a recommendation,” he says. “You want the conversations and all the tough discussions to be made at committee meetings while options are still being crafted and being considered.”
Both local districts have committees that are reviewing proposals. In Richmond, the committee includes School Board members, residents appointed by the board and some school system administrators. In Henrico, Cropper GIS staff selected committee members from submitted applications; School Board members and school staff are not assigned to the committee. Both districts have online feedback forms that are open to anyone.
“The online form makes it easier for people to provide input, which we track and share with the school division,” Cropper says. “We get a larger volume of replies” than when comments came via email, “but it’s more efficient.”
The aim is to keep the process open and evenhanded, he says.
“The emotional side of the process is something we try to isolate and not have as part of our work,” Cropper says. “It’s human nature to have bias in the process; one of my main roles is to be able to limit that and identify when there may be bias introduced.”
Cropper opened his consultancy in 2005, after working for an educational planning firm as its geographic information systems director. He says that only a handful of firms nationally specialize in school redistricting, noting that most clients find him via word of mouth. Based just north of Columbus, Ohio, he and his team of six are on the road often, usually visiting districts east of the Mississippi.
Henrico County Public Schools used a bid process before awarding Cropper the $230,200 contract. A committee reviewed all the applications, school system spokesman Andy Jenks says.
“Cropper GIS was the most qualified to manage the redistricting process based on the committee’s review,” Jenks says. “Cost is factored into the committee’s recommendation but is not the only criterion.”
Cropper GIS’ $126,000 contract with Richmond Public Schools came after the firm submitted a proposal and was accepted through a procurement process for repeat vendors. RPS spokeswoman Danielle Pierce points to the company’s “extensive knowledge of Richmond and its surrounding counties.”
“Separate from rezoning work, Cropper has maintained and updated RPS’ online interactive maps, which help parents to identify current attendance zones for the past few years,” Pierce says. “Cropper’s demographic projections have been relatively accurate.”
Cropper himself notes that no redistricting plan will follow the data absolutely, because certain factors — existing school locations, population density and demographics, especially — are often unchangeable. The goal is to work within existing parameters while preparing for change.
“The best plan is the one that adheres to [a district’s] guidelines as best as possible,” he says.