ABC2 News was in court today to cover Judge Judith Ensor’s ruling against the four Ruxton homeowners trying to stop construction of West Towson Elementary School.
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Archive for April, 2009
A Baltimore County Circuit Court judge today denied a request from four Ruxton residents to temporarily stop construction of West Towson Elementary School.
Judge Judith Ensor said the plaintiffs have failed to show “immediate, substantial and irreparable harm” resulting from the construction of an elementary school near their property.
“I am unpersuaded,” Judge Ensor told the plaintiffs’ attorney, Margaret Fonshell Ward.
The courtroom seats were packed with members of Towson Families United as the school system attorney, Margaret-Ann F. Howie, made the case that construction must continue. Besides Ward, no one opposed to the school — including the four plaintiffs themselves — showed up in court today.
Ward argued that the four plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm because bulldozers would be near their house, creating noise, and because she said their homes would be worth less due to their proximity to the new school.
“Their property values will be damaged immediately,” Ward told the judge.
Ward also argued that the plaintiffs have not had an adequate opportunity to express their views, despite making their case before the governor at the Board of Public Works last year.
Howie called Ward’s arguments “simply incomprehensible,” saying that you can’t compare the “inconvenience” to four people to the pressing needs of 500 students affected by Towson’s overcrowded elementary schools.
The judge began questioning Ward very early into her argument, challenging Ward’s statement that the school system was trespassing by building an access road on the property. When Judge Ensor called it “a nuisance perhaps,” Ward backed off the accusation.
Judge Ensor did say she was not moved by the school system’s arguments that the plaintiffs should be denied simply because they only filed one affidavit, and did not post the usually required bond. She said she made her ruling based solely on the fact that the plaintiffs did not show immediate harm.
The temporary restraining order was denied, so construction can continue while both sides prepare for a preliminary injunction hearing, with testimony, in mid-May. Written arguments for this are due May 6.
UPDATE: Read baltimoresun.com coverage of today’s hearing here.
Read Towson Times coverage of the issue here.
We have just been informed that an Injunction Hearing has been scheduled for 9:45 a.m. tomorrow morning — Tuesday morning — in the Circuit Court Building on Bosley Avenue — Courtroom #6.
Four Ruxton residents are seeking a court order to stop construction of the new West Towson Elementary School. If they are successful, even in delaying the project, the school may not be able to open as scheduled. And our children will be forced for yet another year to put up with the worst overcrowding anywhere in the state of Maryland.
Can we really tolerate any more delay? Can we really sit back and watch yet another selfish person stand in the way of what our children deserve?
We are urging anyone interested in solving the overcrowding problem in Towson to attend. We should try to sit on the side of the court behind the County attorneys — which we believe to be the right hand side of the courtroom, when facing the judge. Those attending should be quiet and respectful of the court.
It is important that we show the judge just how much community support there is for this project. We have come too far to see the only viable solution to Towson’s overcrowded schools fail.
Hope to see you in Court.
The four Towson residents who filed suit Thursday to stop construction of the new West Towson Elementary School say the building will diminish their property values, according to an article in the Baltimore Sun today.
In a press release issued Wednesday, the group cited children’s safety, diminished greenspace and an alleged lack of process as the reasons for their suit. They neglected to mention their concern that their home values would drop. The newspaper says the residents’ property borders the school site, something the press release also doesn’t mention.
Historically, housing prices have risen in neighborhoods with strong community schools.
The four plaintiffs hope to have a hearing next week to gain a temporary restraining order to stop construction, which is already in its early stages, the newspaper said. But according to a local real estate attorney contacted by the Sun, the neighbors don’t have much of a case, as the site already has local and state approval.
Cathi Forbes, chairperson of Towson Families United, said it comes downs to the needs of a few versus the needs of the many.
“In every community, you have to balance the needs of people,” Forbes told the Sun. “You have to weigh the benefits of a new elementary school that will alleviate this overcrowding for hundreds and hundreds of kids versus the concerns of a few people who bought homes adjacent to Baltimore County public schools-owned land.” ‘
Read the full article here.
The neighbors opposing the construction of a new elementary school in Towson have been making a lot of arguments since they first started talking about this issue — which was a few weeks after our long-fought public battle for a new school was finally resolved last May.
At first, they went before the Board of Education and said they were unaware that a new school was a possibility on the school-owned land in their neighborhood, and that they were given no notice before a vote was taken. The facts, however, contradict these statements.
Exactly one year ago today — April 22, 2008 — we posted information on this blog about a feasibility study being conducted by BCPS, which included the Ridge Ruxton School campus. The board did not vote for the new school until May 6. What’s more, an addition on this site was proposed as a solution to our overcrowding as early as February of 2008. It’s surprising that the “concerned citizens” mentioned in today’s press release weren’t concerned about a 400-seat addition on the same site.
But then, this group of neighbors has a history of making arguments that the school system answers, and then making completely different arguments.
They have, to date, complained about: The destruction of their tennis court (it is being resurfaced for multi-use); a new entrance and exit (the plan uses the same entrance and exit); a traffic light at Boyce Avenue (there will not be one there); duplicating the parking lots and bus loops (the existing ones will be only slightly expanded); the destruction of the green buffer surrounding the property (it will remain); and the destruction of fragile wetlands (the school doesn’t come close to them).
And now today, they issue a press release with more arguments. Let’s examine each one.
1. “There are no sidewalks in the neighborhoods adjacent to the campus, which exacerbates the risk to children.” This is unfounded. There were no sidewalks in that neighborhood when the building that is now Ridge Ruxton School was a public elementary school. Are they saying that for all those years the elementary school operated, the children from those neighborhoods were in danger? This would be news to many who grew up there.
2. “Add to that the complicated traffic patterns of two schools and more than 20 buses during rush hour periods and the conclusion is that this site is not safe enough for our children.” Despite being told numerous times that the two schools on this site have days that begin and end at different times, the neighbors continue to argue that pick-ups and drop-offs will be simultaneous. They won’t.
3. “There is also the issue of preserving green space for children and for Baltimore County. With two schools on the proposed site, there will not be room for the fields and playgrounds that other Baltimore County Public School students enjoy.” The neighbors should be aware that our public elementary schools do not generally use the ball fields during recess. They are restricted to playgrounds, for which the new school will have two. Ball fields are used by the local rec councils, and there will still be one available on the West Towson Elementary site. There will also be ample green space, as the architects intentionally designed a school with a very small footprint.
4. “The plaintiffs believe that there are alternate sites in the area that are better suited to relieve the overcrowding in Rodgers Forge and Stoneleigh…” The neighbors opposing this school seem unaware that every other potential site they have mentioned was rejected long before they chose to get involved in this issue, by the county executive and, in one case, even the state superintendent of schools.
5. ”Finally, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Baltimore County Public Schools did not follow mandatory steps in their own stated processes to determine this site choice for the new school.” The neighbors filing this motion have not yet produced this evidence. The school system, meantime, has gone out of its way to document the entire decision-making process, which we believe followed the standard guidelines.
6. “…As a community we tried repeatedly to participate in the discussion about this proposal, and were ignored. We deserve the same voice as other County residents have had.” These residents had an opportunity to get involved when Towson Families United formed in January 2008. They chose not to, even though a major addition was originally planned in their neighborhood. This was the time to have their voices heard, not after the decision was made. Still, they have testified before the school board, and even before the governor of Maryland, since that time. Make no mistake: Their voices were heard. Their ideas were rejected.
But these are all factual arguments. Allow us to make a more emotional one.
Right now, Rodgers Forge Elementary School has 714 students enrolled, in a building meant for 396. Next year, there will be so many students — nearly 800 — that the entire fourth grade will be sent to Dumbarton Middle School. That this is happening is a disgrace. It is the result of years of feet-dragging and delay, on the part of county government and the school system.
West Towson Elementary School should have opened last year, not in 2010. For a group of neighbors to try to delay it again verges on the immoral.
Despite a five-year struggle to convince the county to do something about Towson’s severely overcrowded elementary schools, a small group of residents living near the site of the new West Towson Elementary is calling the decision to build there “hasty.”
In a press release issued today, the neighbors say they have filed a motion in Circuit Court to stop the construction — already underway — citing children’s “safety” as their number-one concern.
An excerpt from their press release:
“We love Baltimore County and the schools here are some of the best in the country,” said Sophia Dryer, a plaintiff and neighbor of the school. “My son is in the school system and my daughters will be, too. When you walk around Ridge Ruxton, it’s common sense that there is no way to fit another school onto that property and make it safe for the children of Baltimore County.”
The neighbors also say the site will suffer from a lack of green space, playgrounds and ball fields. And they complain that the school system did not follow proper procedures in selecting the site.
The press release then lists the names and phone numbers of two people from the group who can be contacted.
To read the full press release, click on the document below:
Towson Families United has learned that four residents living in the neighborhood adjacent to the new West Towson Elementary School may file a lawsuit soon to stop its construction.
Two independent sources have confirmed that the suit may be filed within days. A check with the Baltimore County Clerk of Courts indicated that no suit has been filed to date.
The specific names of those who may seek the injunction are not currently known. However, a small group of residents in the Ruxton Ridge neighborhood — which borders the new school — has been protesting its construction for nearly a year. The group contends that the school system should not be building a second school on the site of the Ridge Ruxton special needs school, and that school officials did not adequately publicize its deliberations in selecting a site.
Their pleas have been largely ignored so far, both at the county and state level, as the issue received almost weekly press for five months. Only when it was clear that the new school would be built in their neighborhood did the residents choose to get involved.
Towson Families United is monitoring the potential lawsuit, and is ready to organize the hundreds of families whose children are affected by Towson’s severe school overcrowding.
The new school is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010. Any delay is not acceptable, as Rodgers Forge Elementary will be nearing 200% capacity next year.
Stay tuned to this blog for more information on the pending legal action, and how you can make your voice heard.
Susan Hershfeld, currently principal at Fort Garrison Elementary in Pikesville, has been named principal of the new West Towson Elementary on Charles Street.
The Baltimore County Board of Education approved the hiring tonight, along with contracts that allow major construction to proceed on schedule. Early digging at the site has already begun. And a BCPS official told Towson Families United tonight that a construction trailer will be on site very soon.
The school is still scheduled to open in the fall of 2010. The name “West Towson Elementary School” was also officially approved tonight.
The Baltimore Sun reported today that plans for the new West Towson Elementary School are well underway. Contracts go before the school board tonight.
“This is just the next big step,” Michael Sines, the school system’s executive director of physical facilities, told the Sun. “We are exactly where we want to be.” Read the full story here.
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