After months of community pressure to ease crowding in Towson-area elementary schools, the Baltimore County school board voted last night to recommend construction of a separate school that would open by the fall of 2010.
The board's decision came just weeks after the panel's members ordered a study to determine all its options, including additions to schools in the area and construction of a new school. The building recommended last night would be designed to accommodate at least 400 students, most of whom would come from Rodgers Forge Elementary, and would be on the grounds of Ridge Ruxton School. Ridge Ruxton, which serves severely disabled children, will remain open.
After the vote, an overflow crowd of parents erupted in applause.
"A new elementary school in Towson is the right solution to a difficult problem," Cathi Forbes, chairwoman of Towson Families United and mother of a Rodgers Forge kindergartner, told the board during public comments later. The grass-roots group formed this year to push for a solution to the crowding.
She thanked the school board "for putting the needs of Baltimore County's children first."
The next step includes conducting a feasibility study, a more in-depth examination of the site.
County Executive James T. Smith Jr. recently budgeted $18 million to deal with overcrowding in the Towson area.
"He is very encouraged by what seems to be a promising solution," Ellen Kobler, a spokeswoman for Smith, said in a phone interview shortly after the school board's action. "We'll need to take a look at all the details and the numbers."
Rodger C. Janssen, the only member to vote against the recommendation, said he was concerned that all potential obstacles had not been addressed. He noted that a feasibility study has not been done, and that unforeseen problems with the site might surface.
The project is on a "fast track," with the goal of starting construction in summer 2009 and opening by fall 2010.
Based on the school's system enrollment data as of September 2007, four Towson elementary schools - Rodgers Forge, Stoneleigh, Riderwood and Hampton - are a total of 451 students over capacity. That number is expected to nearly double in the coming years if the school system doesn't soon fix the problem.
