The Lexington School Board found itself in a rare and unwanted situation this month when it was forced to wait-list some nonresident students who had applied to reenroll at Waddell Elementary School.
Families from outside district boundaries can enroll their students in Lexington City Schools, but they have to apply, and the number of total students enrolled is capped to keep class sizes down. This year, an influx of new schoolage Lexington residents means some non-residents who attended the elementary school in the 2025-26 school year may not be able to return.
The Board last Wednesday unanimously approved the waitlist, which included eight students, even as members raised concerns over the fairness of the enrollment policy.
“It’s not a happy decision,” said Superintendent Rebecca Walters.
In the same vote, the Board also approved renewed enrollment for 60 other nonresident elementary school students. The wait-listed students were rising second-graders and third-graders.
This isn’t the first time Lexington City Schools has waitlisted nonresident applicants, Walters said in an email to The News-Gazette. But it’s much more common for new applicants to be wait-listed than those applying for renewal.
At the meeting, Walters told the Board she only remembers having to wait-list renewal applicants once before. She’s been superintendent since 2019 and was an assistant superintendent in 2018.
Each grade level at Waddell Elementary School has three classes. The district tries to keep class sizes below 18 students for kindergarten through second grade and below 20 students for third through fifth grade. The waitlist exists so that new Lexington residents can enroll over the summer without pushing class sizes over the preferred caps.
“Lexington City Schools strives to maintain smaller class sizes whenever possible so that our teachers can build strong relationships with students and their families, provide the quality instructional experiences we wish to be known for, and effectively respond to student learning, behavioral, and social needs,” Walters said in her email to The News-Gazette.
As of June 10, the second grade class has 43 resident students enrolled. The Board voted to wait-list two returning students and approve eight nonresident renewal applications, which would put class sizes at 17.
The third grade class is even fuller. Waddell has 51 resident third-graders, as of June 10. The Board voted to waitlist six returning students and approve seven, leaving class sizes sitting at 19 or 20.
When her administration was deciding which students to approve and which students to wait-list, Walters told the Board, children with parents who work for Lexington City Schools were given top priority, per district policy.
The children of city employees were prioritized next, followed by children with siblings also applying for reenrollment. After that, policy dictates that priority should be given based on who reapplied first, Walters said.
Other concerns like a student’s history of discipline and attendance, as well as whether they require special programming that isn’t currently provided, may also be considered.
As of June 10, Walters said Waddell has a projected inschool enrollment of 304 students, including 228 residents and 60 renewed nonresidents. That number also includes 16 rising nonresident kindergartners who won’t technically be approved until the Board’s next meeting. It does not include students who are technically enrolled in Lexington City Schools but attend “alternative schools” like the Virginia Institute for Autism.
Walters told the Board there’s less concern with class sizes at Lylburn Downing Middle School, where students change classes throughout the day and aren’t kept in one homeroom. LDMS has a projected in-school enrollment of 180 students.
Board member Kasey Potter said she dislikes the possibility of turning away students who have already been enrolled at Waddell, some of them since kindergarten.
“We’re going to tell these, like, 7- and 8-year-olds that they’re not going to go back to the school that they’ve been at,” Potter said.
Walters told the Board it’s what has to be done to make sure class sizes don’t exceed their caps. The district generally tries to leave each class three to five spots below the limit to provide “wiggle room” if new students move into the district.
Board member Katie Masey suggested speaking to waitlisted families directly instead of sending them an email.
“That would mean so much, I think, instead of receiving an email, being confused,” Masey said. “Some people might not even check that email.”
But Walters said in her email to The News-Gazette that all families applying for renewed enrollment were notified of their status by email on Thursday.
“It was important to us that each family received the same information for consistency and clarity,” she said in the email.
Board member LaTonya Douglas said she’s concerned that allowing some nonresidents to reenroll and wait-listing others may make complicate things for families with multiple children. Walters told the Board that one of the wait-listed students has a sibling whose renewal application has been approved.
Douglas, along with Masey, Potter and Chair Tammy Dunn, voted to approve the renewals and wait-listings. Vice Chair Katie Shester wasn’t present for the meeting.
At its next meeting on July 8, the Board will hear a proposal from Walters about which new nonresident applications to approve. It will also be able to revisit the waitlist in light of updated enrollment numbers.
