Baltimore County school officials are recommending that the new school being constructed on Charles Street be named “West Towson Elementary School.” 

The recommendation will be proposed at a Board of Education meeting this Tuesday. In a written rationale, school Superintendent Joe A. Hairston explains the choice:

The new elementary school will draw its students from the Towson area.  Though a different location, the new school would continue a long history and rich legacy of serving the families in greater Towson.  If the former Towson elementary school was reopened in the future, it could be renamed Towsontown Elementary School since it is located in the midst of downtown Towson.  Until the 1970’s, Towsontown Junior High existed at the site which is now George Washington Carver Center for the Arts  and Technology.

The new school is being built primarily to alleviate the dire overcrowding at Rodgers Forge Elementary, the first step in a series of moves to meet the population surge in the Towson area.  The early groundwork for the building — including laying of sewer lines — has begun.  The published schedule calls for major construction to begin in June, after the medically fragile students at neighboring Ridge Ruxton School are dismissed for summer.  Officials say the project remains on track for an August 2010 opening.

Large additions have also been proposed at Stoneleigh and Hampton elementary schools, though school officials have so far been reluctant to explain details of those plans.

Spotted on the site of our new elementary school on Charles Street.