Overbrook: Redistricting On The Table

With the portable classroom project now scrapped, 's central office is now considering a plan that could lead to the redistricting of three of the town's elementary schools in order to alleviate overcrowding at l.

The schools currently under review by the administration are: Overbrook, Deer Run and .

Portables Scrapped

The town originally sought to create extra learning space at the crowded Gerrish Avenue school by to house its all-day kindergarten program.

The project was estimated to cost some $899,000. But town officials at that time said they expected the state to reimburse the bulk of the cost, leaving the town’s share at about $270,000.

The School Building Committee and the Board of Education had hoped to have the new classrooms ready for the start of the current school year — the first time the district's would be implemented — but that timetable was .

However, that plan was after s Adminstration came into office last November.

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And school building committee members reported at their May 15 meeting they had received a letter from Superintendent of Schools Anthony Serio informing them the plan for portables had officially been discontinued.

Redistricting on the Table

And so, instead of creating extra physical space at the school, Serio reported at the March 27 BOE meeting that his administration is now looking into the possibility of redistricting the lines for Overbrook, Deer Run and D.C. Moore.

Responding to a question from School Building Committee member Donna Richo during the regular meeting's public comment, Serio said he was working on a plan right now with the K-2 principals and the district's bus company regarding redistricting.

And "as soon as they come up with a strategy, they were going to have a meeting with the parents at Overbrook to unfold a plan," according to the meeting's minutes.

Serio did not return East Haven Patch's calls requesting comment for this story.

The superintendent added that there were "some complications with siblings in the 3-5 schools," but that "they were thinking of moving some of the students one year sooner for one year to alleviate the overcrowding at Overbrook," according to the minutes, which are posted in the gallery that accompanies this article.

It is unclear at this time if a proposed redistricting plan were to move forward, if it would be put in place for the upcoming 2012-12 school year.