Should this West End family move to the South Side to solve our redistricting woes? (Richmond: houses, neighborhoods) - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

ufl13 · 08-08-2013, 07:10 PM

My husband and I purchased a home in the far West End several years ago before our daughter was born and are now having concerns if we made the right choice in location. The first issue is that after the recent elementary school redistricting in Henrico county, our neighborhood now sits in a small pocket that will send our daughter to school with one set of kids for elementary school and a completely different set of kids for middle school. Our other regret is that we chose a development that does not have an outdoor pool. The nearest pool we could join would be Dominion Club, which is out of our price range. So we joined the Y instead but are now driving 25 mins to Goochland to use the Y's outdoor pool, which is not going to work for us long-term.

We are very hesitant to move, and it seems like we would be most motivated to move if we could build a new construction 'dream home'. We won't be able to afford new construction in our current area, so we are looking into Chesterfield county instead, most likely in the new neighborhoods around Cosby High School. My biggest concern with this option is whether we will once again be facing frequent school redistricting. Does anyone know when Chesterfield county will be redistricting schools next? Are there certain areas that are more likely to fare well during redistricting? Also, any input on Chesterfield county's current budget situation as it relates to schools would be helpful. Thanks!

sls76 · 08-09-2013, 03:58 AM

What about Hungary Creek Recreation Association for a pool?

I don't get why Henrico County did what they did. I think the middle school feeder pattern should have been considered (I also think they should have moved as few students as possible and allowed everyone who was at SG to stay there, but that wasn't what they decided). That said, I wouldn't make any decisions now based on that--you need to see how this is all going to play out. The county may realize next year that that was a mistake and fix it. Or, for all you know your daughter may end up in the IB program at Moody which would make the assigned middle school irrelevant. If you buy in the Far West End you have to accept that your specific school assignments may change but if you're reassigned you will be reassigned from one excellent school to another.

There's been more reassignment in Chesterfield than in Henrico from what I understand.

zettalou · 08-09-2013, 12:10 PM

We're kind of in the same boat. We're a little farther from Short Pump in the West End (closer to Tuckahoe), and the redistricting has affected us. We'd really like to upgrade to a newer, slightly larger home within the next couple years (ideally we'd like to build), but a house along those lines in Short Pump is going to be out of our price range. We're seriously considering Midlothian, but we're not sure if we'll feel really far away from everything. The Midlothian area seems great, it's just farther from everything, including my husband's work, so there are many factors to consider. I do think that any growing area is going to be subject to school redistricting, so there's that to consider as well. I understand how you feel and I'll be watching this thread along with you!

jkang · 08-09-2013, 07:51 PM

The rezoning happens every what, 10 years? The recent rezoning was because of the building of the new elementary school at Pouncey Tract and Nuckols.

As for the pool... the Shady Grove YMCA has been talking about doing an outdoor pool for several years now. Has anyone heard if they are going to move forward with that anytime soon?

sls76 · 08-10-2013, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkang

The rezoning happens every what, 10 years? The recent rezoning was because of the building of the new elementary school at Pouncey Tract and Nuckols.

As for the pool... the Shady Grove YMCA has been talking about doing an outdoor pool for several years now. Has anyone heard if they are going to move forward with that anytime soon?

I think the OP's issue isn't with the reassignment, but with the fact that they took kids out of one elementary without changing their middle school and are sending them to another elementary which feeds into a different middle school. So about 75% of SGES will go to Short Pump but the reassigned students will go to Holman. I think the county messed up there. I think ideally elementary schools shouldn't be broken up.

The Y needs an outdoor pool. There aren't enough summer pools for people who don't live in neighborhoods with pools and TDC is very expensive for what you get IMO.

ufl13 · 08-11-2013, 06:45 PM

Appreciate the feedback so far. At least it's nice to know I'm not the only one with these concerns. zettalou, out of curiosity, are there certain parts of Midlothian in particular that you are looking at?

zettalou · 08-12-2013, 12:20 PM

We like the area around Charter Colony/Midlothian Turnpike, and a little further southwest. The developments off Robious Road are lovely, but nearly as expensive as Short Pump (for the newer ones, anyway - the homes tend to be huge). The Coalfield Road area seems nice, with the big YMCA with an outdoor pool, new library, etc. I don't think we want to be too far down toward Hull Street, as I've heard the traffic is very bad and makes for a more difficult commute. I love the architecture in the RounTrey community, but we're not sure how we feel about the smaller lots. So much to think about!

My biggest fear is that we'll move down there and I'll regret it or miss the West End. I don't necessarily think that will happen, but it's a big decision. I think we're going to have to either move further out from where we are now and get the house we really want, or stay in this area and settle for something older and smaller that need updating (or just stay in our current house for much longer than we would like). Decisions, decisions...

chestermom · 08-12-2013, 12:30 PM

Well, we just moved to the Cosby HS school district and love it out here. The "Foxes" i.e Foxfire, FoxCroft, FoxField and FoxCreek are all upscale neighborhoods off Woolridge Rd that feed into Woolridge, Tomahawk Creek MS and Cosby HS. All these communities have pools and you can build new in FoxCreek. Houses range from 325K to 500K, not sure what your price range is, but the area is growing and I think it is close to just about everything. Drive out one Saturday and take a look, I think you get lots of bang for your buck, plus the schools are great.

I would stay on this side on Hull Street, there is talk about redistricting because Cosby is overcrowded. When it happens, the rumor is, that Hampton Park side on Hull Street will go to Manchester, which is a less desirable MS, HS combination.

VA Yankee · 08-13-2013, 11:07 AM

Why do parents worry so much that their child(ren) attend middle school with differents kids? We moved to the Richmond area (mid-year) when our oldest was in 6th grade, she survived quite fine. Most middle schools take in several elementary schools and the odds are that the child will never be in class with their friends. As any parent who has been through the different grades knows children will go through several sets of friends by the time they graduate and bff's from 6th grade are who??? by 10th. Yes some may continue friendships through the years but thats the exception not the rule. If their is no issue with the quality of the assigned schools it seems foolish to move just because a child has to attend a different school, thats life. But as always it is an individuals choice what they do...

sarchivist98 · 08-26-2013, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

Why do parents worry so much that their child(ren) attend middle school with differents kids? We moved to the Richmond area (mid-year) when our oldest was in 6th grade, she survived quite fine. Most middle schools take in several elementary schools and the odds are that the child will never be in class with their friends. As any parent who has been through the different grades knows children will go through several sets of friends by the time they graduate and bff's from 6th grade are who??? by 10th. Yes some may continue friendships through the years but thats the exception not the rule. If their is no issue with the quality of the assigned schools it seems foolish to move just because a child has to attend a different school, thats life. But as always it is an individuals choice what they do...

Hmm, I don't think your kids are introverts. I think it is a huge deal and have seen kids have lots of trouble when most of their friends go to a middle different school. Middle school tends to be he** all around, so anything you can do to make it easier is worth it.