Anne Arundel Superintendent Mark Bedell on Wednesday unveiled a hotly anticipated school redistricting plan that would send up to 1,500 South County students to new schools starting in the 2026-27 academic year.

Redistricting may be necessary as the county grows and school enrollment swells, but few experiences are more agonizing for parents, many of whom studied the school system closely when deciding where to live.

Bedell’s proposal is far less disruptive than the redistricting scenarios he presented for public comment earlier this year, one of which would have impacted twice as many children. He said he paid attention to the flood of feedback submitted online and the spirited, sometimes charged public meetings the district held this spring.

“Hopefully, the vast majority of people will say, ‘They actually listened,” he said. “And, ‘They did it in the most fair and balanced way that they can do it.’”

Some families, like those from Edgewater who lobbied to be left out of the school system’s redistricting plan, said they were thrilled with the outcome. Others from Crofton, who will be among those most affected by Bedell’s plan, called the blueprint shortsighted.

“I am deeply disappointed by this,” said Samantha Weaver, whose daughter is a rising sophomore at Crofton High. “I am upset for my community.”

Weaver and other Crofton families take issue with the plan to send roughly 100 students zoned for Nantucket Elementary to Arundel Middle and High School instead of the Crofton campuses, which they prefer. Weaver said she fears this will fray some Crofton children’s relationships and make them feel like they don’t belong.

The plan also calls for reassigning some current high school students to another school. Parent Kristin Caminiti said her son, a rising sophomore at Crofton High, would need to enroll at Arundel High for his junior year. Her younger children’s school assignments would also change.

“This plan is very shortsighted and is not looking at long-term trends in community growth in Odenton and decline in Crofton,” Caminiti said. “They are prioritizing current capacity at Crofton Middle and High School to the detriment of the Arundel community.”

Bedell introduced two versions of his redistricting plan, which differ only slightly. Both options would impact 602 elementary students across the South County and 184 middle schoolers. One option proposes new school assignments for nearly 700 high school students, whereas the second option would only affect around 300 teens.

The board expects to adopt a final version of the plan in November.

Under recommendation one, nearly 400 Annapolis High students in the Walter S. Mills-Parole Elementary attendance zone would move to South River High to alleviate Annapolis overcrowding. And nearly 200 Crofton High students would shift to Arundel High.

Both of Bedell’s options propose requesting a 54-student increase in Crofton High’s official capacity, a tool to help alleviate overcrowding without reassigning more students.

Among the region’s elementary schools, Belvedere Elementary would be impacted the most by Bedell’s plan, which sends 88 of the school’s students to Arnold Elementary. The school that would see the least disruption among those slated for redistricting under Bedell’s proposal is Lothian Elementary. Just three students are slated to move to Tracy Elementary.

Bedell’s plan would also reassign some elementary school students from Davidsonville Elementary to Central Elementary.

Board member Joanna Bache Tobin praised Bedell for doing what she characterized as “surgical work” with as few disruptions as possible.

Alex Williams is one of the Crofton parents whose family will be heavily impacted by the proposed plan. His son will attend Crofton Middle this fall but would need to switch to Arundel Middle the following year. His two younger children would also be affected.

“We were going to go to Crofton High School,” he said. “Arundel High School is great, but it wasn’t our plan.”