Who's Moving Where? How Redistricting is Changing SMCPS.

The conversation around school redistricting has become one of the most discussed topics in St. Mary’s County. The original proposal, presented back in April of this year, addressed three major issues in the county’s public schools, according to Kimberly Howe and Michael Watson.

The Chopticon Post reached out to redistricting@smcps.org—the county’s designated representative on Redistricting matters —for further clarification.

“The Facility Utilization and School Boundary Study is being conducted because of the capacity/enrollment imbalances, with some schools experiencing overcrowding while others have low enrollment, which causes inconsistent class sizes,” according to the email reply. “The initial decision to explore redistricting is to identify possible efficiency improvements, consistent resource allocation, and the balancing of enrollment while maintaining fiscal responsibility and quality learning environments.” 

Many stakeholders are left wondering more about the “why” behind redistricting. While many questions are answered on the county’s SMORE page, it can be difficult to understand the reasons behind the initiative.

Overcrowding

Declining enrollment isn't just happening in colleges; it's happening in high schools across the nation. As St. Mary’s County transitions from rural farmland to small towns, as shown by growth in areas such as Leonardtown Square and Lexington Park, many schools have become overcrowded with students. 

“Based on the data I have seen, we have schools that are not at capacity, while others are well over capacity… This has our spacing issues very unbalanced amongst the schools,” said Amber Long, Chopticon’s Redistricting Parent Representative.

A graph by CannonDesign shows school facility utilization for the 2025-2026 school year, comparing enrollment to state-rated capacity (SRC). In simpler terms, the graph shows the percentage of enrolled students relative to the building's maximum enrollment capacity. The optimal percentage is between 85% and 100% as shown by the schools in yellow, such as Chopticon High School. However, a rate of over 100% (schools marked in red) would be considered overcrowded, such as Leonardtown and Great Mills High School. 

An overcrowded school can cause various problems, from a lack of attention to struggling students to a decline in the quality of educational materials shared. After asking a few faculty members at Chopticon High School, some expressed that some parents may have bought homes in a specific school district; others want people to understand that the high enrollment at other high schools is hurting students’ education by straining their resources. 

"When I first got asked to join the committee, I didn't know much about what redistricting was,” said Molly Hoffman, the CHS Student Representative for the Redistricting Committee. “But after looking into it and learning about it, I found out that redistricting could impact everyone, especially helping to make places like Leonardtown less crowded. It could bring more students or more funding to Chopticon.”

Howe and Watson are also hoping that redistricting would spread the student population out more evenly so that every school has optimal school utilization.

Socio-Economic Balance 

School funding in Maryland is primarily based on per-pupil allocation; (Maryland State Aid to Local School Systems) money for schools is distributed based on student enrollment and characteristics. Each student has a base amount of dollars that the school gets, with additional funding going to students with specific needs, such as special needs, low-income, English learners, etc. 

So in theory, the high schools would get around the same amount of funding due to having the same capacity of 1,695 (2025-2026 School Capacities.) However, according to Long, it’s possible that Great Mills and Leonardtown may receive proportionally more based funding because Great Mills averages around 1,700 students; Leonardtown with 2,100; and Chopticon only with 1,500.

While we don’t know the exact amount of funding each school gets, what we do know is that St. Mary’s County is ranked 20th out of the 24 counties in Maryland for per-pupil funding (Public School Funding FY25, pg 2). According to the government document, schools with the highest funding are still at risk of lower investment in education resources, teacher pay and training, and student achievement.

Even if money weren’t a problem, overcrowding can affect things such as classroom sizes. 

Adam Cropper, Chopticon social studies teacher and Staff Redistricting Representative, stated that “smaller class sizes will lend itself to better teacher communication and instruction for students and parents, and when that number increases, it becomes more difficult to provide the quality education we as educators strive for.”

Class size increases have the potential to impact staff and students alike—putting a strain on the physical and social environment for all.

Minimize Islands

The Effects 

Cropper stated that SMCPS redistricting has 4 phases: Principles & Data, Options, Decisions, and Action. SMCPS is currently in the Options phase, with the Decisions phase happening this week at the second community forum. Many potential outcomes could be shared this week, based on Howe’s report from a past meeting.

“Things we have to consider as part of that would be consolidation of facilities to include some closures, potentially of small schools,” Howe said.

This idea, which has become controversial in the community, was raised during the board meeting, suggesting that schools with fewer than 300 students would be considered. Currently, those schools include the following: Greenview Knolls, Mechanicsville, Oak Ville, Ridge, Town Creek, and White Marsh Elementary School (Official Enrollments). If schools were to close, there would of course be a reduction in faculty and staff throughout SMCPS. 

“Each year, the school system experiences staff who resign or retire from employment with SMCPS. While we can not speak to specifics if there was a school closure, SMCPS does hire new teaching and support staff every year,” according to the SMCPS representative via redistricting@smcps.org.

This perspective shows the reduction in staff as a typical yearly occurrence. With Maryland still in a teacher shortage (Maryland Board of Education: Teacher Recruitment, Development, and Retention, pg. 7), closing a school could require staff to relocate rather than lose their jobs entirely. However, job loss may not be avoidable if the plan comes to fruition.

But how would this impact Chopticon? There’s a chance of redistricting affecting specialty programs like the Academy of Visual & Performing Arts and the Academy of Finance, which is shared in the April 23rd meeting, but there are no specifics as to what degree or how. 

Long shared that, “There is talk of adding a new option to Chopticon! It is a great way to alleviate congestion in our central district with options for students to go to a different high school.” 

We have also asked faculty at Chopticon, and most believe redistricting would benefit Chopticon.

Assistant Principal for 9th grade, Christopher Adams, is new to this high school’s administration team this year but offered a historical perspective as an alumni: 

“When I graduated from Chopticon in 2007, there were 1,679 students enrolled. Last year there were 1,526 students enrolled, and the projected number of students in 2031, when my nephew will graduate, is 1,385,” Adams said, referencing this source. “So I anticipate the redistricting effort will aim to make the best use of Chopticon’s facilities so that we can serve as many students in our community as we can.”

Other miscellaneous effects that have been shared in both the April 23 Board Meeting and SMCPS’ Community Forum include: adjusting start times at schools, repurposing school buildings, repairing/upgrading/expanding facilities, expansion of the pre-kindergarten program, career and tech center expansion, and more.

Who’s Behind the Plan?

Cropper said he learned there’s not much data about whether or not enrollment in St. Mary’s County will continue to decline, increase, or stay stagnant in the future. Due to this, the Board of Education brought in an independent contractor for additional insight.

That task is being handed over to CannonDesign, a global architecture, engineering, and consulting practice that provides services ranging from hospitals and medical centers to corporate headquarters. Some of their notable awards include: One of 9 World Changing Companies in 2019 by Fast Company, and One of the 10 Most Innovative Architecture Firms in the World in 2017 and 2019 by Fast Company (CannonDesign one of the most innovative firms in North America)

CannonDesigns most known example working with Pre-K to 12 schools is Baltimore County Public Schools, Multi-Year Improvement Plan for All Schools. Community engagement was central to the development plans to build a 15-year strategic plan that provided a roadmap for equitable prioritizing and implementing public school facility projects countywide, according to the company’s website. This resulted in a full plan that fit within Baltimore County’s available budget, additions and redistricting bringing capacity utilization to 100% by 2026, and education strategy projects expansion equity and opportunity countywide. 

The district anticipates spending between $250,000 and $300,000 to support school boundary mapping, facility, analysis, enrollment forecasting, and public engagement planning. On July 30, 2025 Facility Utilization and School Boundary Consulting Contract Award, there was requested approval for a contract of $199,860, with a contingency [a future event which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty] of $48,045 for CannonDesigns.

“SMCPS has repeated to us that this redistricting is not a budget issue; it is to fix boundary lines and maximize space with a changing demographic,” Long stated. “They are able to accommodate paying Cannon Designs within the budget.” 

Your Voice Matters

Although this article focuses on Chopticon’s perspective, redistricting will impact every school in St. Mary’s County. The process is still evolving, and community input is vital. 

“Other students should care about this issue too, so that everyone can have their voice heard,” Hoffman said.

You can make your voice heard in several ways: 

• Attend a Community Forum: Public meetings offer opportunities to ask questions and share opinions directly with school system staff. There, you’ll see Amber Long (Parent representative), Adam Cropper (Staff Representative), and Molly Hoffman (Chopticon’s Student Representative). 

• Submit a Public Comment: Residents can speak for three minutes at Board of Education meetings to ensure their perspectives are part of the official record. 

• Contact the staff or parent representatives on the district-wide Community Engagement Redistricting Team.You can reach out to them for additional information or to share your perspective: Amber Long (1112ambernicole@gmail.com) - Parent Representative and Adam Cropper (alcropper@smcps.org) - Staff Representative

• Email Directly: Read through the county’s SMORE page before sending direct questions or feedback to redistricting@smcps.org 

Change is on the horizon, and the decisions made over the coming months will shape the educational landscape of St. Mary’s County for years to come. 

Additional Sources Used

St. Mary’s County Public Schools, “Official Enrollment By Schools For 2024-2025 (FY 2025) https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1753279306/smcpsorg/qundjk2keavtumdvt9u8/OfficialEnrollment_2025-   2026.pdf 

St. Mary’s County Public Schools, “St. Mary’s County Public Schools Board of Education

Meeting - 04/23/25.” YouTube, 24 Apr. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiBFQBokGnY 

“Facility Utilization and School Boundary Study - St. Mary’s County Public Schools.”

Smcps.org, 2025, www.smcps.org/offices/supporting-services/redistricting. 

“School District Boundary Maps - St. Mary’s County Public Schools.” Smcps.org, 2025, www.smcps.org/offices/capital-planning/school-district-boundary-maps. 

Watson, Mike. “Redistricitng | Smore Newsletter” https://app.smore.com/n/9w1xv 

CannonDesign. “SMCPS Community Forum One”, 2025, https://drive.google.com/file/d/12FXXisHOKFqfCL3hwa2sbKhCswmDeHWm/view