The draft options were assembled by Cropper GIS, a consultant the School Board hired. Among the goals RPS is seeking to achieve by redrawing its zones is addressing overcrowding in some schools and under-enrollment in others.

Achieving greater diversity is also a top priority. The criteria that RPS and its consultant are using to accomplish that came up repeatedly Thursday.

“If the point of this is to create diversity, how deep are we diving into putting objectives on what is considered diverse?” asked Derrick Bates, a third-grade teacher at George Mason Elementary in Church Hill.

Some questioned whether the consultant factored in how the socio-economic status of a student body would change under the plans. School officials said they would take the feedback into consideration.

About 60% of students at Fox are white, according to data from the Virginia Department of Education. Cary is 83% black. Both meet the state’s full accreditation standards.

In the proposal, Cary would become 52% black and 42% white, while Fox would be 47% white and 44% black, according to data from Cropper.

After the pairing idea was unveiled last month, some parents used an online feedback form created by RPS to express their opposition.