The Bedford County School Board is set to vote next week on which of four school closure plans to move forward with, but first, community members are invited to share their feedback at a public hearing Thursday.
The hearing will be held during the school board’s regularly scheduled October meeting at 5 p.m. at the Susie G. Gibson Science & Technology Center, 600 Edmund St., Bedford.
The school division is already planning to close Stewartsville Elementary School by 2028, but a new study presented to the school board in August outlined additional measures the division could take as it grapples with declining enrollment.
Here’s what to know ahead of Thursday’s meeting.
Bedford County’s population is rising, but school enrollment is not
Bedford County’s population has been steadily increasing for years, but school enrollment has dropped more than 20% in the past two decades.
Growth has been driven by more people moving into the county from nearby localities like Roanoke or Lynchburg, and retirees and those buying second homes are also attracted to areas of the county close to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Smith Mountain Lake
School-age children make up only about 15.2% of the population, according to Demographic Analytics Advisors.
Enrollment in the county’s public schools has also followed a downward trend over the past 20 years, decreasing by about 22%, from 10,961 students in 2026 to 8,495 in 2025.
There are four consolidation plans
According to the school board’s published timeline, members plan to adopt one of these four plans at a special called meeting on Oct. 15.
Here are the four scenarios:
- Closing Stewartsville Elementary and adjusting all attendance boundaries;
- Closing Stewartsville and Big Island elementary schools;
- Closing Stewartsville and Otter River elementary schools;
- Closing Stewartsville and Bedford Primary elementary schools, with pre-K moving to Bedford Elementary
Under current enrollment predictions, closing only Stewartsville and redistricting the county’s attendance zones could help with the capacity concerns, but board member Dora Purvis told attendees at a Sept. 21 town hall that closing an additional school could also help the division stave off the need to redistrict again in the coming years.
Attendance zones will be redrawn
Regardless of whether one or more elementary schools are closed, attendance zones will be redrawn to reflect the change and relieve capacity concerns at crowded schools like Forest Elementary, which is operating at 85% capacity.
In comparison, Stewartsville is operating at about 44% capacity, and Big Island and Otter River are operating at less than 55%.
Those maps have not been drawn yet. Instead, the division will present specifics after the board adopts one of the four scenarios.
Parent opinions vary, but many aren’t happy
Over the past month, parents, caregivers and teachers have crowded town halls held by school board members across the county to discuss the possible consolidations.
At some, families sought information and asked questions board members didn’t seem to have the answers to.
“It feels very premature for us, as well, because we don’t have the answers to your questions, and I know you might be leaving here with more questions than you had answers, but we are using these [town halls] as an opportunity to gather concerns so that we can get the answers to those questions,” board member Jill Dobson told town attendees of the Sept. 21 town hall.
Concerns were raised about longer bus rides, increased transportation costs and disruptions to specific student populations, such as those with disabilities. About 45 community members, many wearing matching blue Otter River Elementary shirts, spoke in support of the school at a Sept. 29 town hall, The News & Advance reported.
Some board members, like Dobson, have also told parents they would prefer not to close schools.
The school board plans to roll out its plan by the end of the calendar year
The school board is scheduled to vote at a special called meeting at 5 p.m. Oct. 15 at the School Administration Office, 310 S. Bridge St., Bedford.
Once the board has chosen one of the four plans, another public hearing will be held in November, according to a letter sent to families on Sept. 11. That hearing will take place at the board’s regularly scheduled November meeting at 5 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Susie G. Gibson Science & Technology Center.
At the board’s Dec. 10 meeting, the board will vote on new boundaries.
All public hearings and school board meetings are open to the public. Anyone can sign up for public comment.
Meetings can also be watched online via the division’s YouTube channel.
Find more information about the redistricting process here.
