CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Consistent growth in Chesapeake’s Crestwood neighborhood has started to catch up with the city’s public school division. That's why at Monday's school board meeting, Chesapeake school board members heard three plans to address overcrowding in Crestwood Intermediate and B.M. Williams Primary schools.
Currently, students attend B.M. Williams Primary School from kindergarten to 2nd grade, then Crestwood Intermediate School from 3rd to 5th.
Both schools are currently over capacity. School division officials say as of October, B.M. Williams has 736 students while Crestwood has 734 students. Each school is slated to hold only 725 students.
The first option would split the attendance zone along the Chesapeake Expressway, with students on the east side of the line attending the newly created K-5 school, B.M. Williams Elementary, and those on the west side would attend Crestwood Elementary School. Alex Pope from the division's planning office says it is the recommended staff option.
"It's clear and simple, geographically. It's less confusing for families," Pope said. "We also get to reduce about half of our portables at B.M. Williams, while at the same time still leaving some room for growth at Crestwood Elementary School.”
The second option would be a similar split but with a bigger share of students heading to B.M. Williams. Officials said the split would provide its own set of benefits.
“In this option, we're providing the most space at Crestwood Elementary for that potential enrollment growth, and we're mitigating that traffic concern from the first option," Pope said.
The third option, similar to the second, gives a bigger percentage of students to Crestwood. This option would remove the greatest number of portables from B.M. Williams. Pope says several portables need to remain at Williams no matter what due to the Preschool Initiative.
The first public hearing and work session for these options is set for Jan. 13, with a request for final action scheduled for February. Barring any delays, a new Crestwood Elementary is expected to open for the 2025-26 school year.