Parents from Chapel Hill Elementary School demanded, pleaded with and berated the Baltimore County School Board Tuesday night to relieve overcrowding at the institution. Driven by new home construction, the school was originally built for 593 students and now has 763 children enrolled.
Representatives from the Chapel Hill Parents Teacher Student Association recounted the problems: large class sizes, not enough textbooks, gym classes forced to share space, art classes in rec rooms without sinks, traffic congestion and a growing tension between children, teachers and parents forced to operate in cramped quarters.
Kathy Fox, a teacher at Joppatowne Elementary, has two children at Chapel Hill. She said she was “shocked and dismayed” at the board?s lack of attention to the school?s plight. Fox said five messages and a letter to Superintendent Joe Hairston?s office have been left unanswered.
“I?ve defended the Baltimore County School System over the past few years, but can?t anymore,” Fox said. “I no longer believe in the system.”
The school system has not redrawn the school lines in twenty years, a plan supported by many parents and Baltimore County Council Member Vincent Gardina.
Gardina said Wednesday he submitted a plan to the county council to put a moratorium on building in the area, butfailed to win support. He also said the state board of education has several requirements before school building can take place, making it hard for local leaders to receive funds and build new schools proactively.
A new elementary school in the nearby Vincent Farms neighborhood is likely to be overcrowded for its scheduled opening in the fall of 2008.
Rick Huether, the Chapel Hill PTSA president, said the organization first approached the board with its concerns in 2002. With the ongoing housing construction and the expected arrival of more new families through a military base realignment plan, Huether said he doesn?t believe relief is in sight.
“We demand a documented plan of action,” Huether said.
School Board President Donald Arnold cautioned that many parents may not like redistricting, if it comes to that, once they are notified their children, is required to change schools. Arnold pointed out Chapel Hill isn?t the only overcrowded school.
“We have 19 other schools that are more overcrowded than Chapel Hill,” Arnold said. “Redrawing one district line will affect others. You can?t just change one piece in a puzzle.”
