The ink hasn’t dried on a single redistricting proposal, yet some Howard County parents say they have the solution to avoid shuffling students to new schools.

Their ideas, which are at odds with the district’s long-term enrollment goals, are likely dead on arrival.

The Howard County Public School System needs to relieve overcrowding at two elementary schools — Bryant Woods in Columbia and Centennial Lane in Ellicott City. Doing so could affect attendance zones in as many as 11 of the county’s 78 schools starting in fall 2026.

Alliance for Neighborhood Schools, a community group against redistricting, says the district’s “short-sighted” decision to place pre-K programs at over-capacity schools is causing the problem.

The group wants officials to pump the brakes and recommended its own solution: move pre-K out of Bryant Woods and Centennial Lane and into nearby schools.

Maryland public school systems are bound by the state’s education department to expand pre-K access under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s plan for improving local schools.

Each school district must expand pre-K according to its own needs and classroom space. Shutting down existing classrooms isn’t part of Howard’s plan to ensure its 4-year-olds, especially those who are low-income or have special education needs, can go to pre-K, said Ebony Langford-Brown, the county schools’ executive director for curriculum, instruction and assessment. Even if the district did as the parents have asked, she said, it would only be a temporary solution.

“Ultimately, our goal is to have pre-Ks in every building,” said Langford-Brown, who is also the acting early childhood coordinator.

Here are some things to know about the neighborhood school alliance’s proposal — and why the school system likely isn’t on board.

What’s its proposal?

The proposal to relocate pre-K classrooms could uproot up to 60 preschoolers this fall.

In an online petition that has drawn over 1,100 signatures, the alliance says pre-K programs should never have been placed at the two crowded elementary schools, even if providing such programs is “highly commendable.”

“Howard County families should not be forced to bear the burden of poorly implemented pre-K programs at the expense of redistricting K-12 students,” the petition reads.

The county says the majority of preschoolers at both schools would stay on for kindergarten — the rest are from nearby schools without pre-K capacity — meaning moving their pre-K classes would rezone those students for their first year of formal public education. Building routines and familiarity is especially important for young learners.

To move those kids, the county would have to find space elsewhere in an already high-demand area, plus potentially transport some students.

“It’s just not ideal for a 3- or 4-year-old to be on a bus where [they’re on] for longer periods of time instead of going to the school in their zoned neighborhood,” Langford-Brown said.

In response to emailed questions, the alliance said the pre-K parents they’ve spoken with understand the difference between a one-year disruption and a permanent move.

“Equating the two ignores the vastly different impact each has on families and school stability,” said the alliance.

The three parents spearheading the group all have children in the schools involved or potentially involved in redistricting.

Would it work?

In the case of Centennial Lane, no.

Even if the school system reclaimed the two pre-K classrooms there, the move would only boost capacity by up to 50 students, said Timothy Rogers, manager of school planning for Howard County Public Schools. That would bring Centennial Lane’s utilization down to just over 110%, which still triggers a redistricting conversation.

At Bryant Woods, utilization would drop in the short term, but would rise to 126% by 2034, according to the district.

Since pre-K students are not a significant percentage of either school’s population, just removing them doesn’t immediately solve overcrowding. The district said rising enrollment is because of housing turnover near Centennial Lane and the redevelopment near Bryant Woods of downtown Columbia, which is expected to add more than 2,000 new apartment units by 2034.

How is pre-K expanding?

Maryland’s vision for pre-K is for all 3- and 4-year-olds from families earning 300% or less of the federal poverty level to be able to attend high-quality, full-day pre-K for free. That includes some preschoolers who have special education needs or come from a home where English is not the primary language. However, parents don’t have to send their kids to pre-K.

School districts should offer spots to all eligible 4-year-olds by the coming school year and eligible 3-year-olds by fall 2031. That year, districts should ensure they have enough pre-K spots for all 4-year-olds who want to attend, regardless of income, though their families may have to pick up some tuition costs.

For the coming school year, the Howard school system has 1,218 open pre-K seats for 4-year-olds, according to the district. The school system isn’t serving 3-year-olds yet, but plans to offer about 260 seats when it reopens the Faulkner Ridge Center for the 2027-28 school year. For now, younger kids can access publicly funded pre-K through six private partners.

Does every school need pre-K?

According to the Alliance for Neighborhood Schools, the school system should transfer pre-K out of Bryant Woods and Centennial Lane because the Blueprint doesn’t require districts to place preschool in every elementary school.

While that’s true, school systems develop their own plans for meeting the Blueprint’s demands, said Rachel Hise, executive director of the state’s Accountability and Implementation Board, which oversees the Blueprint.

“There are many components in the Blueprint that provide flexibility for local districts,” Hise said in an email.

Across Howard County, about 3,200 kids are eligible for free or reduced price pre-K, the district says. That doesn’t include 4-year-olds with parents expected to fully cover their pre-K costs. There are 7,805 kids ages 3 to 4 in Howard County, according to the Maryland Family Network.

Can private programs take more kids?

The Blueprint says state-supported pre-K spots should be equally available in both school systems and private programs. The alliance said it’s reasonable to ask whether Howard County is doing enough to meet that goal.

But no county has recruited enough private providers to come close to that 50-50 target; the state has already rolled back its timeline to reflect those struggles. For the school year that just ended, less than 6% of publicly funded pre-K spots statewide were in private businesses. According to numbers provided by the county, about 30% of Howard’s seats are in private programs, mostly in Head Start.

Langford-Brown said Howard has not seen “much interest or participation at all” from private providers, likely because tuition reimbursement rates are too low for businesses that run on tight margins. That means the county could be responsible for offering pre-K to more than just its half of eligible kids to ensure equitable pre-K access.

To make that happen, the county is adding pre-K wherever there’s capacity and incorporating pre-K classrooms into future elementary schools. There are now pre-K programs in 32 of the district’s 42 elementary schools.

That’s meant growing pains: While one teacher could head both a morning and afternoon class in a half-day program, that teacher is instead responsible for the same group all day in converted, full-day programs. Preschool classrooms are bigger and require renovation, built-in bathrooms and smaller furniture. Classes are limited to 20 kids, with one teacher per 10 children.

What comes next?

Community resistance to boundary changes is nothing new for Howard County schools. The district grappled with a contentious countywide redistricting nearly six years ago that sought to balance student enrollment and socioeconomic equity across schools. It left lingering wounds.

Several boundary review scenarios and maps will be presented July 17 to the Board of Education. Three public feedback meetings will follow, the first July 21 at Wilde Lake Middle School.

After reviewing community feedback, Superintendent Bill Barnes will release his proposal in September. The school board plans to vote on a final plan in November.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.