As parents rally for a new school in northern Carroll County, they have repeatedly made one point: North Carroll High School is overcrowded.
The proof, they say, is in the portables.
“There are 16 portable classrooms at North Carroll,” said Kaaren Priester, a Manchester mother who is leading the charge for a new school in Carroll.
Portable classrooms are temporary, individual, standalone units. But parents call them trailers.
At a recent School Board meeting, parents said children in portable classrooms are not as safe as students inside the building.
Common problems with portable classrooms include poorly functioning ventilation systems, mold growth, and pollution from nearby parking lots, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
But officials say the 123 portables are as safe as regular classrooms.
Carroll has inspected the classrooms yearly for the past three years, Carroll County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent of Administration Steve Guthrie said.
Parents of students in Freedom and Hampstead elementary schools and Mount Airy Middle School complained about high carbon dioxide levels and mold on the carpets in portable classrooms, resulting in the school system?s pledge to keep good air quality in the portable classrooms, Guthrie said.
The school system has received an Environmental Protection Agency grant to protect school air quality.
Portable buildings that are well-built and regularly maintained can last up to 25 years, said Michele Cunningham, of Williams Scotsman, a modular building supplier based in Baltimore City.
“There is no significant difference in student behavior or achievement when a student is a portable classroom versus a permanent classroom,” she said.
