Parents at a public Baltimore County special education facility have filed a federal civil rights complaint over plans for a 400-seat addition to the school that could include general population students.
The parents of students at Towson?s Ridge Ruxton School say expansion plans to ease overcrowding violate their children?s rights to education in a “public, separate day school.”
The complaint, the first step toward a federal lawsuit, is the latest in a long-running dispute that escalated when members of the county?s Board of Education voted Tuesday to study expansion options.
“They are there for a specific reason,” said Ridge Ruxton PTA president Laura Mullen. “They are medically fragile or their needs are too great to be met in a regular school.”
Board members Tuesday voted to study overcrowding at Rodgers Forge, Stoneleigh, Hampton and Riderwood elementary schools, but rejected a request to hire architects to design an addition to Ridge Ruxton, said Cathi Forbes, whose son attends Rodgers Forge.
Forbes heads Towson Families United, a grassroots organization that also opposes an addition at Ridge Ruxton because county officials have not committed to including a second cafeteria, gymnasium, health suite, and other common areas.
The study will include “all options,” said schools spokeswoman Kara Calder, who said she could not comment specifically on the Ridge Ruxton complaint.
“Ultimately, we have to solve an overcrowding issue in Towson,” Calder said. “And, in Towson, clearly space is limited. We are not growing new land.”
Also at Tuesday?s meeting, board members ratified a four-year contract to county schools Superintendent Joe Hairston, authorizing a 3 percent raise to his $260,000 salary.
About 50 teachers walked out of the meeting, according to those present, in protest of County Executive Jim Smith?s resistance to across-the-board raises for teachers this year. Several staged a protest Wednesday morning outside Franklin High School, where teachers and staff such as librarian Ann O?Neill have been keeping to strict contract rules.
O?Neill, a 21-year veteran, said she has ended extended library hours, which she is not compensated for.
“It was definitely a difficult decision for me personally and professionally, but I feel I need to support my colleagues,” O?Neill said. “None of us take it lightly.”
