Complicated formulas and legal concerns could lengthen the debate among Anne Arundel County officials on how to solve public school capacity issues.
“I?m anticipating an [adequate public facilities] discussion. I?m not anticipating any bills to pass,” said Council Chairwoman Cathy Vitale, R-District 5, about two bills on school capacity issues that go before the council Monday.
“We?re going to be looking at a different way, a better way to look at this.”
In March, a six-year moratorium on new residential construction ends. The council must approve a method to determine school capacity by the deadline or developers could move into areas where schools are over capacity.
County Executive John R. Leopold has introduced a bill to give the county government power to publish the school utilization chart, a document that tells the county planning department which schools are open and closed to new students.
If the chart says a school is closed, no new development is allowed. However, due to a pending lawsuit, the chart has not been approved by the school board.
The school board has supported Leopold?s effort.
But the council has qualms about how to calculate school capacity. The chart does not include a new elementary school in Gambrills, which may redistribute the numbers.
“We?re hypothesizing and pontificating on numbers we don?t even know are true,” said Councilman Jamie Benoit, D-District 4.
The bill is an emergency ordinance, and Deputy County Attorney David Plymyer said is a “certain urgency” to move the bill forward.
Councilman Ronald Dillon Jr., R-District 3, said the council should adopt methods other similar-size counties use. “We don?t need to recreate the wheel,” he said.
But Vitale and Benoit said current calculations do not include senior housing, which would not produce students. Adding such variables to the calculations could complicate things, school officials said.
The other bill before the council would allow property owners seeking to subdivide their land into five lots or less to not be subjected to the chart.
That bill has not found support from the school board, Leopold or some of the council members because it could be abused by developers and lead to overcrowding.
“You might get a situation where there are five kids and four chairs, and if someone is not willing to put chairs in the school, who?s going to stand in the corner?” Vitale said.
