Overcrowding

One question about the recent carbon monoxide deaths in Pikesville: Isn't there any kind of legal limit to how many people can occupy a given residential property? ( "County officials investigate Pikesville carbon monoxide deaths," Dec. 13.) There is certainly a legal number of people the fire marshal allows in schools, churches, commercial spaces, etc. Ten people were living in that house. Four people were living in the basement alone! This kind of overcrowding presents the potential for great loss of life in an emergency.

I am writing in reference to your article, "Questions but few answers regarding elementary school in Catonsville" (May 15). I am a parent at Westowne Elementary in Catonsville. I am concerned that our school is not being included in Baltimore County Public Schools' plans to address overcrowding and the other problems associated with aging schools. My husband attended the May 8 community input meeting. Westowne was not included in the BCPS overcrowding presentation. The three other Catonsville elementary schools were listed and discussed.

Regarding the Solo Cup factory zoning ("No 'courtesy' for Wegmans," May 27), why is no one talking about using the facility for a new middle school in the northwestern part of the county? Franklin Middle School has 1,292 students, Deer Park Middle has 1,235 students and Pikesville Middle has 1,017. These enrollment figures are higher than the other county middle schools and having over 1,200 students in a middle school is ludicrous. The best use of this property would be a new middle school so that student enrollment at the aforementioned middle schools could be reduced to reasonable levels.

Learn from past for answers to overcrowding We have all heard, "If you don't learn from history, you are destined to repeat it. " We must learn from events 18 years ago when citizens wanted the (County Executive Dutch) Ruppersberger Administration to commit to the voters' approval to reopen Bloomsbury as a middle school. Instead, the county executive transferred the approved monies to other school projects. Citizens of Catonsville united and appeared before the Baltimore County Board of Education, the County Council, county executive and even held hands around Bloomsbury to no avail.

ANOTHER OVERCROWDING crisis is looming at Baltimore's Central Booking and Intake Center. The lockup is said to be so cramped that officials at a recent meeting joked about perhaps having to house pretrial suspects on barges in the harbor. This is no laughing matter. As arrests have increased over the past year, so apparently have the numbers of suspects who either don't qualify for bail or don't have the money for it. They end up spending an average of 86 days at Central Booking before their first appearance before a judge, according to the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

I read the story in the Sept. 21 edition of the Towson Times ("Towson-area enrollments prompt study for new elementary school"), and know from previous news coverage over the years about the overcrowding in our school system. First off, when I attended Baltimore County public schools, there was no such thing as overcrowding. That was because we did not have an overpopulation issue then. Just looking at the block where I live, there are 26 homes. Of those, 11 have school-age children (under 18)

As The Sun correctly points out ("Crowded classrooms," May 15), classroom overcrowding has developed because of decisions authorized by Baltimore County's school board, and we appreciate The Sun's investigative reporting and analysis of this problem. Unfortunately, it is unlikely the board would have ever raised this issue or brought it the public's attention. In fact, The Sun reported that "Donald Peccia, the head of human resources for county schools, said he was not aware of the number of classes with 30 or more students.

Stay-at-home mother Leslie Kornreich is working to convince Howard County voters that, if elected to the school board, she will tackle concerns she believes have not been adequately addressed — overcrowded schools, calendar planning and special-education streamlining. Kornreich, 38, who lives in the area of Hanover that is part of the Elkridge community, filed June 11 and is one of nearly a dozen candidates seeking election to the board. It will mark the first-ever election bid for the former Spanish teacher, who has two children who attend county schools.

Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso is closing several Baltimore City schools. Many Baltimore County schools have trailers and they are in the process of building more schools to alleviate overcrowding along the York Road corridor. I figure why not let city teachers keep their jobs, and Baltimore County students (depending on their district) have a bit longer commute and use the soon-to-be-closed city schools. Kate Glorioso

A District Court judge in Washington, D.C., delayed ruling yesterday on whether the city should be held in contempt for continued overcrowding at its maximum-security juvenile detention center in Laurel.Both sides in the case are negotiating a settlement, said David Reiser, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, who won a consent decree in 1986 that limited the number of inmates at Oak Hill to 150.The consent decree, signed by Superior Court Judge Ricardo Urbina, still is being monitored by attorneys.

If there is one problem we can be certain will not solve itself in Baltimore County, it is overcrowded schools. In fact, it is likely to get worse. Indications are that student enrollment in county schools is headed upward for at least a decade. The 2012 district-wide enrollment of 107,033 is expected to add another 1,409 this year, according to data released by the school system last month. The 10-year projected increase is 6,929 more students. This enrollment increase will hit elementary schools first, then move up into middle and high schools, according to the report.

The independent watchdog agency that oversees Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services recently released a report showing the state made important progress last year toward improving conditions for youths held in its three largest juvenile detention facilities. That's good news given the years of problems the system has encountered with overcrowding, incidents of violence, high staff turnover and aging facilities. Now the state needs to build on those gains by replicating the successful programs at its largest institutions in smaller facilities statewide.

As thousands of late-night revelers partied to thumping electronic dance music in the graffiti-marked remains of an old fort in Baltimore last month, some overdosed on drugs or became overwhelmed by the heat, according to a report by the city fire marshal. While the overnight Starscape festival at Fort Armistead Park stretched into the early-morning hours, emergency medical crews from the city and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties struggled to keep up with calls for help from the venue, responding to the park "continuously" for 12 hours, the report says.

Regarding the Solo Cup factory zoning ("No 'courtesy' for Wegmans," May 27), why is no one talking about using the facility for a new middle school in the northwestern part of the county? Franklin Middle School has 1,292 students, Deer Park Middle has 1,235 students and Pikesville Middle has 1,017. These enrollment figures are higher than the other county middle schools and having over 1,200 students in a middle school is ludicrous. The best use of this property would be a new middle school so that student enrollment at the aforementioned middle schools could be reduced to reasonable levels.

For years, lawmakers and child advocates have been urging Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services to speed up the process of getting troubled youths out of the state's overcrowded juvenile lockups and into residential treatment facilities where they can get help. And year after year, the answer is always the same: There aren't enough treatment slots for all the kids who need them. So it was already more than a twice-told tale when DJS Secretary Sam Abed appeared before the state Board of Public Works recently and said he is considering expanding the size of some privately run residential treatment programs because of the shortage of beds at state facilities.

As The Sun correctly points out ("Crowded classrooms," May 15), classroom overcrowding has developed because of decisions authorized by Baltimore County's school board, and we appreciate The Sun's investigative reporting and analysis of this problem. Unfortunately, it is unlikely the board would have ever raised this issue or brought it the public's attention. In fact, The Sun reported that "Donald Peccia, the head of human resources for county schools, said he was not aware of the number of classes with 30 or more students.

When I gave blood about 10 days ago, my blood pressure was surprisingly low (for me) at 90/60. But a few things have gotten my blood boiling in the last few days, particularly as I read them on the pages of The Aegis. I think what's got me most riled up is all the complaining by some Harford County Public Schools teachers about their lack of raises in recent years. We can't keep going like this," Ryan Burbey, chair of the English Department at Aberdeen Middle School, told members of the Harford County Board of Education at their meeting Monday night.

Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso is closing several Baltimore City schools. Many Baltimore County schools have trailers and they are in the process of building more schools to alleviate overcrowding along the York Road corridor. I figure why not let city teachers keep their jobs, and Baltimore County students (depending on their district) have a bit longer commute and use the soon-to-be-closed city schools. Kate Glorioso