When Lisa Hanson and her family moved to Columbia a decade ago, the neighborhood was zoned for Bryant Woods Elementary. By the time her oldest went to kindergarten, the home school had changed to Swansfield Elementary. And now, to her dismay, it may be about to change again.

The Howard County Public School System is nearing the end of a monthslong redistricting process that will shuffle students out of two overcrowded elementary schools: Bryant Woods and Centennial Lane in Ellicott City. It’s been clear all along that attendance zones might change at other Columbia elementary schools, too.

But families like Hanson’s learned only last month that their children were in the mix when five new maps were presented to the school board. The board is slated to vote on a final plan next week. Now families fear they’re out of time to make the case to keep their school communities together, and they’ve joined a growing contingent pushing to move a bare minimum number of children.

The school board meets for a virtual redistricting work session Thursday night, when it is expected to take a straw vote on the six plans. No more public hearings are planned before the final decision on Nov. 20, unless the board decides to consider additional maps.

At the last public hearing Nov. 6, Hanson and other speakers overwhelmingly urged the board to vote for the option known as Concept IV, which would move 122 Bryant Woods students to Swansfield or Running Brook Elementary. It would take Bryant Woods down from 124% of the building’s capacity to 82% next school year.

Its proponents say it’s the least disruptive option; it moves the fewest students without increasing the portion of students living in poverty who attend Bryant Woods. By comparison, another option on the table would move 81 students, but Bryant Woods’ poverty rates would go up.

The most disruptive option would reshuffle 739 students to relieve capacity at both Bryant Woods and Centennial Lane.

Over a dozen Centennial Lane families spoke at last week’s hearing, some wearing highlighter-yellow T-shirts with the slogan, “Reshape the Plan, Not the Kids.” They also backed Concept IV, which would leave their school attendance zones intact. Parents said the school doesn’t feel overcrowded.

Few parents testified from Bryant Woods, a Title I school with a high percentage of low-income families. Bryant Woods PTA President Massawa Stevens-Morrison has said previously that it’s “difficult for working families to tap in.”

Bryant Woods parent Erin Sutton testified in favor of Concept IV, even though some of her kids’ friends would move. It brings down the poverty rate in the student population, she said, and “builds on years of progress toward equitable and integrated schools.” Children from low-income families are more likely to need extra support to succeed; parents worry that too many in the same school can strain its resources.

Longfellow Elementary parent Elizabeth Wohler also backs Concept IV because it benefits Bryant Woods without moving around other elementary schoolers. However, she wants more transparency from the school system and more public hearings.

No matter which option the school board selects, the specter of another round of redistricting haunts families. School overcrowding will continue to be a challenge as more development — and families — come to the area.

Redevelopment near Bryant Woods is expected to add over 2,000 new apartment units by 2034. Hanson said there are plenty of development projects around Swansfield, as well, including The Legacy at Cedar Lane, which will expand the existing structure from 62 to 123 housing units less than a five-minute drive from the elementary school.

Under Concept IV, Bryant Woods is projected to again reach above 100% capacity in 10 years.

Some say that’s part of the appeal of the plan that moves fewer kids — why move so many now, when they’re likely to be reassigned to new schools in a few years?

“It’s really hard to establish a sense of community” when the same neighborhoods keep changing schools, Hanson said. “Are we going to go to a fourth school [in a few years]? Where are we going to be? There’s no sense of stability.”

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Concept IV would move the second-fewest students of the plans under consideration.