I have tried to address school overcrowding for the past 15 years. Upon my election to the County Council, we moved to lighten development by downzoning more than 260 acres in northeastern Baltimore County, where classrooms have been among the most crowded.
That has had a profound effect. Between 2000 and 2010, Baltimore County approved 2,073 residential building permits that would yield homes likely to produce school-age children. Between 2011 and 2013, the county only approved 96 building permits.
Much of the new construction in northeastern Baltimore County was approved before my election. Where there has been new development, I have tried to support housing that has more limited impact on schools. The Brightview Perry Hall project, for example, houses senior citizens.
While we have lightened the impact of development on school overcrowding, demographic changes have worsened the problem. As an example, Harford Hills Elementary School is overcrowded despite almost no residential growth.
In 2013, I joined with the Perry Hall Improvement Association in asking Superintendent Dance to initiate an enrollment review in the northeast. He agreed to do so, and I am very happy I look forward to the start of that process this fall. Please attend the meeting with Superintendent Dance on Wednesday, October 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Perry Hall High School.
We need to have some very important conversations over the next few months. The county wants to build a new 700-seat elementary school in the northeast. Where will this be located? We also need to preserve land for a future middle and high school sites, since the enrollment growth at the elementary level will certainly affect older grades. I look forward to the upcoming dialogue as we build better schools in northeastern Baltimore County.