Chesterfield's West Ridge High redistricting maps explained
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Current boundaries (top left), Option 1 (top right), Option 2 (bottom left) and Option 3 (bottom right). Photos: Courtesy of Chesterfield
Chesterfield's newest high school could be nearly 80% full within five years — or more than 90% — depending on where the county draws its boundaries and how housing growth plays out.
Why it matters: Redistricting has become a recurring headache in Richmond's suburbs as districts try to relieve overcrowding without filling new schools so quickly that they're back where they started.
Driving the news: Chesterfield is weighing three boundary maps for West Ridge High, the county's first new high school in 20 years, opening next August with room for 2,400 students.
- All three options would eliminate the 26 trailer classrooms at Cosby and Midlothian — two of Chesterfield's most overcrowded schools, per county documents.
- They'd also zone students in Magnolia Green, Westerleigh and Summer Lake for West Ridge.
- Current juniors wouldn't be affected, staying at their schools for senior year.
Zoom in: Depending on the map, roughly 1,500 to 1,850 students would be zoned for West Ridge, mostly from Cosby and Midlothian.
- Option 1 moves the fewest — about 1,545 — and spreads enrollment most evenly among the three schools, while keeping Hallsley and NewMarket at Midlothian.
- Option 2 moves the most — about 1,846 — including Hallsley and NewMarket and areas west of Woolridge Road.
- Option 3 is a hybrid of the two, per county officials, shifting about 1,801. It would send Hallsley and NewMarket to West Ridge but otherwise largely follow Option 1.
The tradeoff: Option 1 would leave West Ridge at about 79% capacity five years out, giving it the most room for future growth.
- The other two would put the new school at around 90%-92% while leaving Midlothian around 70% and Cosby between 80%-83%.
- The projections account for anticipated housing development.
What they're saying: Hallsley families are pushing for Option 1, urging the board to keep their neighborhood at Midlothian in public comment last week.
- Parents have cited splitting children from Midlothian Middle classmates, longer trips and concerns about teen drivers navigating Otterdale Road.
Meanwhile: Chesterfield is separately planning to move 128 students from the western edges of the Clover Hill and Manchester zones into Cosby, filling some of the space West Ridge would free up.
What's next: A Sept. 28 public meeting at Deep Creek Middle ahead of an Oct. 13 board vote.
- Chesterfield residents can look up their address here to see their children's proposed school under each option.