Reverse the Reassignment of St. Ives, Brookcreek Crossing and Brookcreek Estates From JB Watkins Elementary

Two hundred homes, plus the surrounding neighborhoods of Rosemont, Founders Bridge, and Salisbury, are now being impacted by a rezoning decision that does not make sense and creates serious safety concerns.

Chesterfield County Public Schools has already reassigned
St. Ives, Brookcreek Crossing, and Brookcreek Estates
from JB Watkins Elementary to Bettie Weaver Elementary through an administrative change made without public engagement from the affected neighborhoods.

A community meeting is scheduled for December 15th at Bettie Weaver Elementary at six o’clock in the evening.
We want our concerns and signatures gathered before and for that meeting so they cannot be ignored.

This reassignment is not geographically logical, creates safety risks, and breaks apart long-standing school and community connections.

We are urging CCPS and the School Board to re-evaluate and reverse this decision.

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Why This Matters

1. Unsafe and Impractical Travel Routes

Our three neighborhoods have direct, safe, simple access to JB Watkins.
To get to Bettie Weaver, drivers must now cut through multiple neighborhoods using narrow residential streets that were never intended for out-of-zone school traffic.

This results in:
• unsafe peak-hour congestion
• longer and more complicated commutes
• increased accident risk
• unpredictable traffic patterns in communities that were never consulted

JB Watkins is accessible. Bettie Weaver is not.

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2. Increased Traffic Through Rosemont, Founders Bridge, and Salisbury

This decision affects far more than the two hundred homes being reassigned.

Redirecting us to Bettie Weaver forces daily school traffic, twice a day and five days a week, to cut through:
• Rosemont
• Founders Bridge
• Salisbury

Residents in these neighborhoods will now face:
• congestion on quiet residential streets
• cut-through traffic in front of homes and bus stops
• increased safety risks for children walking and biking
• backups at narrow residential intersections

These neighborhoods were never designed to serve as a main school commute corridor for families who do not live there.

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3. Disruption to Early Childhood Stability

Many children in our neighborhoods began their education at JB Watkins and rely on the stability of their routines, teachers, classrooms, and peers.

This sudden reassignment risks:
• anxiety and stress
• academic regression
• social disruption
• loss of developmental stability

Early childhood consistency matters, and this decision undermines it.

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4. Loss of PTA Leadership and Volunteer Support

The two hundred homes in St. Ives, Brookcreek Crossing, and Brookcreek Estates make up a large portion of JB Watkins’ most active volunteer base, including the current PTA President and multiple committee leads.

Reassigning these neighborhoods removes:
• core PTA leadership
• events and program volunteers
• fundraising support
• years of built relationships and service

This weakens Watkins.

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5. Breaking Apart Long-Standing Community and Youth Sports Connections

Our neighborhoods have always been part of the JB Watkins to Midlothian Middle to Midlothian High pathway.

The impact reaches beyond academics. It also affects the Midlothian Athletic Association, the nonprofit youth sports organization that serves JB Watkins students.

• Five MAA board members live in St. Ives, Brookcreek Crossing, or Brookcreek Estates.
• MAA bylaws state that youth sports participation is based on your zoned elementary school.
• With this reassignment, children in these neighborhoods would be forced out of the athletic association they have always been part of.
• This separates them from long-time teammates, coaches, volunteers, and the sports community they grow up in.
• It also removes nearly the entire leadership structure of the MAA board.

This is not just a school change. It disrupts an entire community system that supports children year after year.

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What We Are Asking

We respectfully request that Chesterfield County Public Schools:

✔️ Re-evaluate and reverse this reassignment
✔️ Keep St. Ives, Brookcreek Crossing, and Brookcreek Estates zoned to JB Watkins Elementary
✔️ Fully consider the safety and traffic impact on Rosemont, Founders Bridge, and Salisbury
✔️ Acknowledge the impact on youth sports and community infrastructure

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Add Your Name Before December 15th

A community meeting will be held on December fifteen at Bettie Weaver Elementary at six o’clock in the evening.

By signing this petition, you stand with the many homeowners who believe this reassignment is unsafe, impractical, and harmful to children and the surrounding communities.

We will bring these signatures and concerns to that meeting to advocate for a reversal of this decision.

Please sign and share. This affects all of us.

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Contact Leadership About This Decision

If you would like to share your concerns directly with division leadership, you can email:

Lisa Hudgins
School Board Representative, Midlothian District
Lisa_Hudgins@ccpsnet.net

John Phillips
Director of Constituent Services
John_Phillips@ccpsnet.net

Dr. John Murray
Superintendent, Chesterfield County Public Schools
superintendent@ccpsnet.net