‘No more waiting’: Hanover County approves new school boundary plan to address overcrowding

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- After months of public input and revisions, the Hanover County School Board has unanimously approved a new boundary adjustment plan aimed at relieving overcrowding in schools across the district.

The “Green Plan,” adopted during a school board meeting Monday night, is a county-wide rezoning strategy that will impact elementary, middle, and high school students. The full transition will take place over two academic years, beginning in fall 2025.

District officials said the plan is a critical step toward balancing enrollment and preparing for continued residential growth in Hanover County.

“We're happy they've decided what to do and we can make plans accordingly,” said Jon Butler, a Hanover parent whose child attends Cool Spring Elementary. “No more waiting to see if they make changes.”

Cool Spring has been at the center of rezoning discussions due to overcrowding. The follow are localities where rezoning would be possible under the new plan:

• Students from the Atlee Manor and Craney Island neighborhoods will transfer from Cool Spring to the existing Washington-Henry Elementary starting in the 2026-27 school year.
• Students from the Giles neighborhood will remain at Cool Spring until the following year, once construction of the new Washington-Henry Elementary is completed.
• An area west of Route 301 would move from Rural Point Elementary School to Pearson’s Corner Elementary School.
• An area east of Route 301 would move from Washington-Henry Elementary School to Rural Point Elementary School.
• An area south of Meadowbridge Road would move from Washington-Henry Elementary School to Mechanicsville Elementary School.

Butler, whose daughter is finishing kindergarten and whose son is in preschool, said the change will be manageable for his family. He noted that the biggest adjustment is a slightly longer commute.

“It’ll be our entire neighborhood moving together,” he said. “She’ll be migrating to the new school with all the same kids she rides the bus with today.”

The rezoning doesn’t stop at the elementary level. Boundary lines for Oak Knoll, Chickahominy, Hanover and Atlee middle and high schools will also shift to align with the new elementary school zones.

Butler said he is grateful families now have time to prepare for the transition. He also hopes the county will consider traffic implications as new commute patterns occur.

The plan goes into effect for the 2026-27 school year except for the Giles neighborhood, which phases in at the start of the 2027-28 school year.

You can view the new boundary map and adjustments here.

For more information about the project's process, click here.