The Baltimore County Board of Education was expected to begin consideration at its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 20, of a 700-seat elementary school on land the board owns in either Mays Chapel or Dulaney Springs.
The meeting's agenda included an introduction of the proposal as part of a report by school superintendent Joe Hairston on school capacities.
Many Towson parents had hoped the problem of overcrowded elementary schools in the county school system's central area, which includes Towson, would be alleviated by the opening of the 451-student West Towson Elementary School in August 2010.
But overcrowding remains an issue, even as additions are planned or under way at nearby Hampton and Stoneleigh elementary schools.
In the central area, 12 schools, from Sparks to the city line, are projected to exceed 97 percent of their planned capacity this year, according to the report on capacity and enrollment from school Superintendent Joe Hairston.
Of those, seven are projected to be at or above 114 percent of capacity this year. Hampton is the highest at 179 percent.
By 2015, all 12 schools are collectively projected to be 719 seats above capacity, even after adjusting for a 200-seat addition at Stoneleigh and a 300-seat addition for Hampton, according to the report.
Many of these schools show an increase in enrollment above projections for this school year. Total enrollment for the 12 schools is 70 more students than projected.
The report, which recommends the new school, says, "Balancing enrollment among the elementary schools in this region is clearly not feasible, because there is no sufficient capacity in any of the schools in the region to satisfy the need."
The report notes that the school system will study two sites for a new school.
According to schools spokesman Charles Herndon, the Dulaney Springs site is a nearly 20-acre park near Warren Elementary at the intersection of Old Bosley and Pot Spring roads.
The Mays Chapel site is in Mays Chapel Park, made up of 10 acres owned by the board and 10 owned by the county, Herndon said.
A site in that area — north of Padonia Road between Jenifer and Tullamore roads — was considered and rejected for a new location for the Ridge Ruxton School in 2007. Residents who feared noise and traffic as well as the loss of park space defeated the project.
A number of variables figure in school overcrowding, according to the report. They include "increasing birth rates, increasing housing availability and parents consciously choosing BCPS to deliver a high quality education to their children."
"It's a challenge to keep up with the demand," Herndon said.
Next stop: Carver?
The board also is looking at saving the existing Carver Center for Arts and Technology building on York Road in Towson instead of tearing it down.
After the student body moves into the new Carver under construction on the campus in August 2012, the school system planned to tear down the old Carver and replace it with ballfields and parking.
Herndon said now, the system might use the building to temporarily house Stoneleigh Elementary students to expedite construction of an addition to their school.
"That's a creative short-term solution if it will get the construction done faster," County Councilman David Marks said.
But Marks said he has also heard from parents who are worried about how the elementary school crush is going to play out once those students are ready for middle school. Whether it's used as a temporary elementary school or not, they think the old Carver building could ultimately be used as a middle school if necessary, he said.
"Those kids are going to be going somewhere," he said, noting that there are families who can no longer afford private school because of the economy. "I don't think we need to rush to judgment when the issue is losing a building."
The board is not entertaining the idea of using Carver as a middle school, Herndon said, but he said he thinks the board might begin discussing its temporary use for Stoneleigh students as early as this week.
The opening last year of West Towson Elementary initially alleviated the overcrowding at Rodgers Forge Elementary, which at one point had seven classroom trailers filled and fourth-graders attending classes at in the adjacent Dumbarton Middle School building.
Now the Rodgers Forge PTA is upset after learning that the school system may cap enrollment at West Towson, which could lead to the overflow beginning to crowd their school again.
"As a school community and neighborhood, we are adept at coping with overcrowding, having dealt with it for 10 years," PTA president Trisha Schwab wrote to zone Assistant Superintendent Verletta White on Sept. 7.
"We are not, however, willing to move in that direction again," she said