More than 100 Arbutus Elementary School students would attend the neighboring Relay Elementary next fall under a boundary change being considered by the Baltimore County school board.
To alleviate crowding at Arbutus, 116 students in the western part of the Arbutus district would be transferred to Relay, where an eight-classroom addition is under construction. That proposed move would bring the Arbutus enrollment down to capacity and still leave space at Relay, which is at 5885 Selford Road.
The affected area is an oblong section that takes in about two-thirds of the University of Maryland Baltimore County campus. Its boundaries are Wilkens Avenue and Courtney, Shelbourne and Selford roads.
As must all boundary changes, this proposal will receive several hearings before being voted on by the board, in February. It is the only boundary adjustment proposed for next year.
The redistricting proposal is unlikely to surprise residents of the southwestern part of the county, since the two schools are only a short distance apart. When the County Council approved the Relay addition in September 1993, it did so with the intent of relieving overcrowding at both schools, said JoAnne Koehler, manager of the school system's office of student data.
There is not enough space at Arbutus, at 1300 Sulphur Spring Road, for a 10,000-square-foot addition, she said.
"It's not an issue of whether it's going to happen, but how," said Arbutus PTA President Carol Jacober. "I think there's some apprehension" because the details of the redistricting are not yet widely known, she added.
The school communities will get their first look at the proposal Monday, when the PTA executive boards from both schools will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. at Arbutus Middle School, 5525 Shelbourne Road.
The capacity at Arbutus is 486, but there are 616 students there this year and 602 expected next year. The school has four relocatable classrooms on its grounds. At Relay, the present capacity is 310 and the enrollment is 354, with the same number expected next year. The addition, however, will add 214 seats, so that even with the Arbutus students, Relay would be about 50 under its new capacity next year.
"The biggest parcel [of the area to be redistricted] is UMBC," said Ms. Koehler. Most of the affected students live north of the campus and south of Courtney Road near the Beltway. Children living on the south side of Courtney between Wilkens Avenue and Shelbourne Road would attend Relay under the proposal; those on the north side of Courtney Road would remain at Arbutus, said Pam Carter of the office of pupil assignments, which handles boundary adjustments.
The current Arbutus students would have a somewhat longer bus ride to Relay, said Ms. Koehler, but it would not be significantly longer because of the proximity of the two schools and the fact that the affected youngsters live close together.
There will be a community meeting on the proposal Jan. 12 and a board hearing Feb. 14. The board is to vote on the proposal Feb. 28.