Board of Education to Vote on School Improvements *Updated!*
The Baltimore County Board of Education will soon vote to address pressing issues of long-term planning and overcrowding in local schools, including Towson High School. Specifically, the Board will consider the issue of funds and whether to rebuild or make an addition to Towson HS.
From Councilman David Marks:
"The Baltimore County Board of Education will soon consider a long-term high school improvement plan. Unelected staff members are recommending an addition at Towson High School and no replacement for Dulaney High School.
Parents, community leaders, and educators have been insistent on the need for new schools. We have patiently waited as other schools advanced through the process.
Please contact the Board of Education at boe@mybcps.info and urge members to reject any plan that does not recommend a new Towson and new Dulaney High School. While I represent only those central Baltimore County neighborhoods that include Towson High School, it is unfair to not include any help for our neighbors along the York Road corridor."
From Delegate Cathi Forbes:
“*ACTION NEEDED TODAY -- PLEASE SHARE*
is in dire need of a replacement building, but the Baltimore County Board of Education is about to consider a plan that only offers a poorly designed addition. Your immediate help is needed to make sure Towson students have a building and design that is on par with others in the county.
Here’s what you need to know:
Last September, the Board sent the state a budget request that included a replacement building for Towson High, which is both the county’s oldest and most-overcrowded high school. This request was based on the findings of a December 2018 BCPS study.
The plan is now in jeopardy.
Between March and September of 2020, the county commissioned a new study that only recommends a 500-seat “quick launch” addition to the current school, along with a new cafeteria. BCPS later upped that number to 550-600 seats.
This Tuesday, Jan. 5, the Board of Education will consider this suddenly revised request for an addition instead of a replacement. I have asked to speak at this meeting. And I need all interested parties -- including current, former and future Towson parents and students -- to write the Board and implore them to stick with the original plan for a replacement school.
The deadline for your email to be considered is NOON TOMORROW (Monday). Their email address is: boe@mybcps.info
Why is a new building preferable to an addition?
1. The building was designed for learning in 1949. It’s 2021, and all around the Beltway, new schools are being constructed for 21st learning. Towson High parents and students aren’t asking for more than anyone else. They simply want -- and deserve -- the same 21st century school that the county is building elsewhere.
2. The building has had a series of poorly thought out and rushed additions and renovations. The last was in 1998 -- 23 years ago. It is, by any measure, patched together and poorly functioning.
3. BCPS officials are proposing to add up to 600 classroom seats, without adding to the auditorium, the gymnasium (already one of the smallest in the county), the extremely narrow hallways in the old building, or the playing fields. In essence, they will be cramming 1,800 students into common areas meant for fewer than 1,200.
4. The Towson community has waited patiently for years for a new school to be built. They were elated when a replacement was recommended by a BCPS study and included in the county’s own budget. With this revised recommendation by BCPS, they feel as though the rug has been pulled out from under them.
Because it has.
Please take a few minutes today to let the Board know why you support a replacement for Towson High. Your voice matters to them. Thank you.”
The Board of Education will meet Tuesday January 5th to discuss the issue, with a vote planned for Tuesday January 19th. Please contact them to express your opinion on the matter.
