A committee tasked by the Calvert County Board of Education (BOE) to present options for repopulating the system’s seven northernmost elementary schools presented its study to the panel Thursday, Jan. 9. The options will be presented to the public during two public hearings in February.
While each of the plans has adequate buses and routes for student transports and will considerably ease the critical overcrowding at Beach Elementary School (BES), school board members were clearly troubled by the affirmation of the presenters that none of the options would be a long-term solution.
“This is just a stop-gap measure,” said Department of Student Services Director Kimberly Roof. When asked by BOE member Joseph Chenelly if the committee could assure no more elementary redistricting for the next six years after an option is approved, all three presenters shook their heads.
Two of the options (numbers one and two) would reduce BES’ student population to a level below its state-rated capacity. The school, Calvert’s oldest elementary, is located within the Chesapeake Beach town limits and is currently over capacity by an estimated 200 students. Last year the BOE responded to a request submitted by the Chesapeake Beach Town Council to consider redistricting in order to solve the overcrowding at BES.
A committee comprised of administrators and PTA representatives from three elementary schools, including BES, along with town, county and CCPS representatives, presented redistricting options. After two poorly attended public hearings, the BOE opted to broaden the study to include four other elementary schools. As a temporary fix, the BOE approved moving two portable classrooms to the BES site.
Last June, when the BOE decided to restart the process, board member Tracy McGuire voted opposed, indicating the committee had offered two acceptable solutions to ease overcrowding at BES. “I don’t think we’ll get a better answer next year,” said McGuire last year.
“Is there a simpler way without disrupting half the county?” Interim Superintendent of Schools Nancy Highsmith asked. McGuire reminded Highsmith, who was not interim superintendent when the previous decision was made, that the school board had tried a less-disruptive plan in 2013. “We’ll be back here again because the northern end [of Calvert] is growing,” said Highsmith.
While the options don’t offer a more permanent solution to the BES dilemma, they apparently contain no larger increases in transportation costs. Kevin Hook, CCPS’ Department of Transportation supervisor, told the board that although all four options will include reassigning routes to accommodate tier changes, the buses “will be running the same miles. The [additional] costs will be very minimal.” When asked by board member Dawn Balinski what the “longest bus ride” under the four options would be, Hook said approximately 40 minutes.
In addition to presenting the four redistricting options and other data about the “facility utilization” of the seven elementary schools and transfer information, the committee issued a statement, which was read into the record by Director of School Construction George R. Leah Jr. The missive was similar to one issued by the previous committee, citing the Town of Chesapeake Beach’s lack of control on residential growth as being the prime culprit for overcrowding at BES. “The growth does not impact just the elementary schools,” the committee stated. “It will eventually have an impact on the entire county school system. Additionally, Chesapeake Beach’s expansion has the potential to impact growth in other areas of the county making this a countywide concern.”
The hearings will likely be scheduled for Feb. 11 and 13 with a board making its decision in the early spring. Roof said due to an error some of the approximate nu
