Montgomery leaders are spending millions to construct health care centers inside schools for children from low-income families, upsetting some residents who are frustrated that space is made for the facilities while classes meet in portable trailers outside.
In July, Summit Hall Elementary School in Gaithersburg will debut the county’s fifth school-based health and wellness center, which cost $1.6 million to construct and will cost about $300,000 a year to operate.
“Many young families don’t have easy access to transportation,” said Judy Covich, director of school health services for Montgomery’s Health and Human Services department. “When parents don’t have to take off from work to take a child to the doctor, there is a real advantage.”
But some people who’ve worked in Summit Hall have expressed frustration the county is building an addition to house a health center, but the school has five portable trailers for classes and the school system as a whole has 470 relocatable classrooms.
“My feelings are that schools are for education,” said an educator who asked that her name not be used for job security concerns. “Before you start a health center, get kids in classrooms inside the building.”
Any student can enroll to use the health center who lives in the ZIP code served by the school and there is no cost for participation, according to Covich. The centers are staffed by nurse practitioners with physician oversight and provide a broad array of health services ranging from medical and dental care to limited counseling for mental health concerns.
Officials say there are about 2,800 students signed up to use four existing school-based health centers operating at Gaithersburg Elementary School, and Silver Spring’s Broad Acres Elementary, Harmony Hills Elementary and Northwood High schools. The county’s capital improvements budget now under consideration includes nearly $10 million more for health centers at as many as six more schools over the next six years.
Council President Mike Knapp said he supports the concept, but has concerns about the cost of the school-based centers.
“They are really expensive,” Knapp said. “I wonder if we could use our resources to explore partnering with private organizations to meet some of the need.”
The health center addition being constructed at Summit Hall occupies roughly the space of two classrooms, according to a school facilities official. Council member George Leventhal, chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, said the health centers are being funded by the county’s health and human services budget, not school monies.
“The point is there are many children in Montgomery County who may not otherwise get health care at all and this is huge if we want our students to succeed,” Leventhal said.
