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Promised addition at Hampton delayed

The second part of a three-part solution to Towson’s elementary school overcrowding problem is on hold, school officials say.

Baltimore County Public Schools had planned on beginning a much-needed addition at Hampton Elementary this fall. Administrators and parents there were told that the grounds behind the school would be cleared for construction over the summer. Only when that didn’t happen did parents realize there was a problem.

The state did not provide the $6.4 million requested by BCPS to build the project. In fact, while the Hampton addition was just below the West Towson Elementary project on the school system’s priority list, the state skipped over Hampton in favor of projects lower on the list. Instead, the school received three more trailer classrooms, bringing the total number to eight — one below what Rodgers Forge Elementary had at its peak overcrowding last year.

Towson Families United has been investigating for several weeks why Hampton was not funded, but does not yet have definitive information.

At an August 10 Board of Education meeting, Cathi Forbes, TFU’s chairperson, advocated for the project to move forward quickly.

“A school with a state-rated capacity of 307 will open with around 450 students. Imagine if your offices were that overcrowded,” Forbes told the Board. “Imagine the logistics of trying to get any work done.”

Forbes said Towson Families United was grateful for the construction of West Towson Elementary, which opens August 30, but reminded the Board that the new school was never intended to solve the overcrowding problem on its own. Phase 2 of the school system’s solution to the problem is the Hampton additon. Phase 3 is an addition at Stoneleigh Elementary.

Even with the new school, the Towson area is projected to need more than 450 seats in the next three years.

Forbes told the Board that Towson Families United is still intact and will continue to advocate for long-term solutions to the overcrowding problem. We will post more information on the Hampton situation as it becomes available. To read today’s front-page Towson Times article on this issue, click here.

If you’re not currently a member of Towson Families United, you can register here. You can also get easy updates by following us on Facebook. Click here for our page.

Published by Towson Families United
August 18th, 2010 in The numbers, Meeting reports, Media coverage
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BCPS ENROLLMENT REPORT: 451 GROWS TO 554

Towson’s four overcrowded elementary schools — which last year were well known to be 451 students over capacity — are now 554 over the state-rated limit, according to BCPS enrollment numbers released recently.

The revised numbers, which are accurate as of September 30, are posted on our website here.

At Rodgers Forge Elementary, the most overcrowded elementary school in Maryland, the actual number of students is 714 — even more than the official September 30th figure. That number is also greater than the school system predicted last April, when the latest enrollment projections were published. Rodgers Forge has a capacity of 396.

Plans for Towson’s new elementary school continue to be on schedule, according to school system officials. However, that school will only provide about half the needed seats in the next five years. To meet the additional need, school system officials are considering additions to Stoneleigh and Hampton elementary schools. BCPS and Maryland State Department of Education personnel visited both sites last week. However, no funding has been requested for either project.

Another option to help meet these needs is to move the Cromwell Valley Elementary technology magnet program, currently drawing students from around the county, and re-open the building as a community-based elementary school. Re-opening Cromwell Valley would be significantly less expensive than building an addition, but school officials do not appear to be seriously considering this option.

Published by Towson Families United
November 23rd, 2008 in The numbers
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NEWS ALERT: ADDITIONS PROPOSED FOR STONELEIGH, HAMPTON ELEMENTARIES

Baltimore County school officials are proposing additions to Stoneleigh and Hampton elementary schools in order provide the more than 400 additional seats needed in the Towson area in coming years. Stoneleigh would be expanded by 200 seats, and Hampton by 300.

That would turn Stoneleigh into a 700-student school, and allow Hampton to accommodate more than 600 children. There has been no word whether the additions would include expansions to the existing cafeterias and other common areas.

The proposal, which was submitted at tonight’s Board of Education meeting, is part of the school system’s FY 2010 State and County Capital Budget Request.

The Board will discuss the proposal at length during its September 16, 2008 work session, which is open to the public. The proposal will then be voted on at the September 23 meeting.

Also tonight, the Board voted to move forward with construction of a new, 451-seat elementary school on Charles Street. In the next five years, school projections indicate a need for more than 800 elementary school seats in the Towson area.

Published by Towson Families United
September 9th, 2008 in The numbers, Meeting reports, Upcoming events
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RFES ENROLLMENT NOW AT 714 STUDENTS; 180% CAPACITY HIGHEST IN STATE

At a meeting for parents of kindergartners and first-graders Thursday night, Rodgers Forge Elementary principal Susan Deise announced that 714 students have signed up for school this fall — in a building designed for 396 students. That brings Rodgers Forge to 180% capacity — the highest in the state of Maryland. Audible gasps were heard in the packed room, but Mrs. Diese quickly assured parents that the school system was going above and beyond to handle the overflow.

Specifically, she said each of the five kindergarten classes this year will have both a teacher and a full-time, instructional aide. Last year, the kindergarten classes had to share just one aide. In other grades, the school has hired additional teachers to make sure class sizes remain manageable. Nevertheless, the sheer number of students now — which exceeds even last year’s school system projections — has put an understandable strain on school operations. So it’s more important than ever to support the administration, staff and teachers there.

Mrs. Deise credited strong parental pressure on the school system for getting these additional teachers and aides, as well as other necessary equipment and services to handle such a large student body.

Official enrollment numbers will not be updated on the TFU website until they are announced in late September.

Published by Towson Families United
August 23rd, 2008 in The numbers, Meeting reports
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Smith’s new budget values Towson schools less

You don’t have to be good at math to understand the implications of County Executive Jim Smith’s new FY 2009 budget.

After months of intense public attention on the worst school overcrowding anywhere in his county, Mr. Smith has included $18 million to build a few undetermined additions along what he calls the “York Road Corridor.” That number is misleading, however; the county actually only wants to spend $12 million on the problem, with the other $6 million to eventually be paid by the state.

The sum of $18 million may seem like a lot. Until you compare it with how much the county executive decided to spend on the new Vincent Farms Elementary School in northeast Baltimore County: $29 million.

When Chapel Hill and Perry Hall elementary schools were found to be overcrowded, Mr. Smith saw the need and built a new school. Not an addition. He “forward-funded” the total amount to build the new school, which opens this fall. Eventually, $11 million of the total amount will be paid by the state.

Why the disparity?

Why, in Mr. Smith’s eyes, would one community deserve a school, and another community deserve some poorly thought out additions? Why would one community merit $29 million, and another just $18?

We don’t begrudge any other community a school. We simply expect to receive equal treatment from the county executive’s office.

Clearly, the $18 million figure Mr. Smith has set aside is guiding the so-called “feasibility studies” being conducted right now by Baltimore County Public Schools. That’s so wrong. It virtually eliminates the possibility of a new school being built in Towson. (For a list of schools being considered for additions, click here.)

The county executive continues to claim he is “waiting” to hear what the school system recommends to solve the overcrowding question. But to anyone paying attention, to anyone with a brain, he’s already decided on the answer.

Published by Towson Families United
April 25th, 2008 in The numbers
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The mystery of Dogwood and Cedarmere.

Towson Families United recently discovered a report from the Office of the County Auditor, dated May 17, 2007, which contains some troubling information.

It seems County Executive Jim Smith insisted on including money in his budget for additions to Dogwood Elementary and Cedarmere Elementary, despite the fact that Baltimore County Public Schools did not recommend them. Page 6 of the report states:

“The additions at Dogwood and Cedarmere Elementary Schools were not requested by BCPS or the Planning Board, but rather were added by the County Executive.”

This concerns us greatly, for a number of reasons.

First, Dogwood and Cedarmere are less crowded than Rodgers Forge Elementary. And Dogwood in particular is surrounded by under-capacity schools, so overflow students can be moved nearby. That’s not an option anywhere in Towson.

During the 2006-2007 school year, when the auditor’s report was written, Rodgers Forge was 122.06% over capacity, compared with 120.53% at Dogwood, and 113.83% at Cedarmere. But while Rodgers Forge was already the most overcrowded, it wasn’t even mentioned as a concern in the report. The numbers then jumped considerably this school year, when all-day kindergarten came to Rodgers Forge — something that should have been easily predicted.

Currently, Rodgers Forge is 157.58% over capacity, compared with 112% at Cedarmere. Dogwood is now at 96.22% capacity — not even a full school.

For some reason that remains a mystery, Mr. Smith still saw fit to address these other schools’ needs first. And he still hasn’t proposed a solution to Towson’s overcrowding.

Perhaps more troubling, though, is the fact that the county executive is exerting his authority against the wishes of his own school system. On many occasions, he has stated that he has no say in what school construction projects to go forward with — that it is up to the school system.

This auditor’s report says otherwise. And it calls into question the decision-making ability — not to mention the ethics — of Mr. Smith, a former judge.

Click here to write Mr. Smith a letter, asking him to explain himself.

To read the full auditor’s report, select “Education - Capital” after clicking here.

Published by Towson Families United
February 28th, 2008 in The numbers
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Scroll down. Way down.

We just updated the “trailer watch” section of our main website. Next year’s “short-term” plan calls for two more of these portable classrooms to be added to the seven already jammed behind Rodgers Forge Elementary School.

Published by Towson Families United
February 27th, 2008 in The numbers
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Enrollment numbers have grown. (Again.)

Click here to review the new school enrollment numbers provided by officials at last night’s meeting, which are accurate as of September 2007. The numbers we were using before were from 2006 data. The total number of students overcapacity at our four schools is now 451.

If you ask your principal, you’ll likely find that your school enrollment is actually higher than that stated on our chart, with new students added throughout the school year.

We’ll stick with the county’s official numbers to keep things simple. But please know that real numbers are even higher.

Published by Towson Families United
February 8th, 2008 in The numbers, Meeting reports
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Towson’s claim to fame.

From a post on the Baltimore Sun’s talk forums comes this startling fact:

“According to the Baltimore County School System’s own figures, here are the only schools in the county that exceed capacity by more than 20 percent, along with the amount they’re over.”

Rodgers Forge: 57.6 percent over capacity

Sparks: 26.1

Chapel Hill: 24.0

Hampton: 22.5

Norwood 22.4

Stoneleigh: 21.0

Vincent Farms Elementary is opening in the fall of 2008, to alleviate overcrowding at Chapel Hill. So that means that three of the five most overcrowded schools in the county are in Towson.

Problem? What problem?

Published by Towson Families United
February 3rd, 2008 in The numbers
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