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Extensive rezoning across the city. Pairing elementary schools. No school closures.

Richmond Public Schools has unveiled preliminary options for new school zones prepared by an outside consultant. A special committee of city School Board members, 18 people appointed by the board and the school system’s administration began to review the options Thursday at the group’s second meeting.

To help alleviate current overcrowding and a projected 6.6% enrollment increase, from 24,390 students this year to 25,993 in 2028-29, Ohio-based Cropper GIS proposed changing the school zones for about 10% of the district’s current enrollment. The School Board is set to vote on the new zones this fall, with the changes taking effect at the start of the 2020-21 school year.

The two options were created and presented to the committee by Matthew Cropper, the founder of the consulting firm bearing his name, which is being paid $127,000 by the district. The company developed the two options based on objectives approved by the School Board earlier this year, including improving the diversity of the district’s 44 schools, alleviating overcrowding, and putting more students in new school buildings.