Nottingham Elementary School should continue to be a neighborhood school and be removed as a potential site for an option school.

Nottingham should continue to be a neighborhood school for the following reasons:

1. It has the second highest percentages of walkers at 82%.  Why would a school that has a very large number of walkers be considered as an option site?
2. It has two general education buses and one special education bus serving the school.  How would the influx of 8-12 additional buses, which are typically associated with an option school, impact the infrastructure surrounding the school?
3. The NW quadrant of the county historically, currently and projected to continue growing with all elementary schools either approaching or over 100% of capacity.  Why would you consider removing needed neighborhood seats?
4. Nottingham is tucked away in an upper corner of the county and inside a neighborhood making traveling to and from other parts of the county cumbersome with potentially very long bus rides. Option schools should be centrally located to allow equal access from all parts of the county.

During the work session, APS staff reiterated that Nottingham is very close to other schools and would make it “challenging to draw boundaries in the fall.”  This appears to be the sole reason for listing Nottingham as a potential option school site.  This reason is NOT acceptable. 

We are asking APS to remove Nottingham Elementary School as a potential candidate for an option site.  Nottingham Elementary School is, and will continue to be, a highly walkable and needed neighborhood elementary school.