The poorer families are still there. But more middle-income residents are buying the new homes springing up in Southeast Carroll County.
That tips the scales just enough so Piney Ridge Elementary will lose a federal grant designed to boost schools with a certain proportion of disadvantaged children.
Principal Gloria Horneff said she is hoping to find other grants to keep Linda Witter, the full-time resource teacher whose salary is paid through Chapter 1 money.
"It is possible we could lose her. We're looking for other ways to keep her," Ms. Horneff said.
This year, Piney Ridge has a grant for more than $60,000 through Chapter 1, which will be called Title 1 starting in July.
The federal program has been in Carroll County since 1966, and six schools qualify this year. Piney Ridge is the only one in southeast Carroll.
Next year, it might not be eligible through the formula that is based on the percentage of children who receive free and reduced-price lunches.
Even if the school is eligible, it won't get the money because it has the lowest percentage of the six schools. New federal guidelines are designed to give more money to the neediest schools in a district and drop the least needy ones.
Although eligibility might sound meaningless without the Chapter 1 grant, it isn't, said Patricia Amass, who coordinates state and federal programs for Carroll County schools.
"Other grants are possible that only go to Chapter 1 schools," she said. "If they're eligible, that still puts them down as a high-risk population. We really won't know until April or May."
Ms. Witter works with other teachers and with students directly to enhance skills.
Although the school gets the money based on the percentage of poorer children, the services are directed to students who need the academic help, regardless of income.
Because another teacher in the school focuses on language, Ms. Horneff said, she asks Ms. Witter to spend most of her time on math.
In addition to paying for Ms. Witter, the grant provides another $17,000 toward training for classroom teachers and other school staff.
The eligibility for Chapter 1 money is determined by finding the countywide average of students getting free and reduced-price lunches.
In Carroll, that average is 8.6 percent. Any schools above the average qualify. Of the six that did, Taneytown was highest with 21 percent, and Piney Ridge was lowest with 9.4 percent, Ms. Amass said.
The school's eligibility for next year will depend on how the school board redraws district lines between Taneytown and Runnymede elementary schools, which will affect the percentage at Runnymede and countywide, Ms. Amass said.
"Our overall enrollment is increasing, but our free and reduced lunch counts are not," Ms. Horneff said. "We're getting more and more people moving into the area who don't have the economic needs as might have been in the past."
But the educational, emotional and social needs remain, she said, and affect students' abilities to learn.
"There's definitely a need for this kind of funding, even though the area might not be an economically needy area," she said.