MCPS Superintendent Joshua Starr on Tuesday restarted the school system’s public push for state funding of school construction projects with a press conference in front of portable classrooms.
Starr, speaking at Rockville’s Beall Elementary School, once again made the case that the rapidly growing school system is in need of help from Annapolis when it comes to a number of important school construction and addition projects — including some in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area.
The superintendent is recommending an additional $220.8 million be added to the existing $1.53 billion capital budget passed in May by the County Council. That $220.8 million would theoretically come from Annapolis, where county legislators were unsuccessful during last year’s General Assembly in garnering enough out-of-county support for a state construction funding package.
“Montgomery County continues to make significant investments in meeting the space and facility needs of MCPS and we are very appreciative of their commitment,” Starr said. “But enrollment in our school district is increasing every year and if we are going to keep up with that growth, an even bigger investment is going to be needed. It is our hope the state will step up this year and provide additional revenue to its largest and fastest-growing school district.”
School and county officials came together during last session to push for support. But even then, many expressed the feeling that the upcoming 2015 General Assembly might provide a more realistic opportunity.
In terms of area projects, MCPS says the extra money could provide for the relocation of the special needs Rock Terrace School from Rockville to the same site as Tilden Middle School in North Bethesda as part of Tilden’s planned revitalization and expansion project.
The school system said it will involve all stakeholders before making that decision, though it would prefer special needs programs colocated with general education facilities:
Dr. Starr is proposing a roundtable discussion group to consider the possibility of collocating Rock Terrace School with Tilden Middle School, which is currently scheduled for a revitalization/expansion project.
The current Rock Terrace School, which serves special education students ages 12-21, is housed in an older, stand-alone building in Rockville. The state of Maryland strongly discourages stand-alone special education centers and may not fund improvements at stand-alone centers. The collocation of special education centers with general education schools is a successful model that has been implemented elsewhere in MCPS.
Tilden Middle School was identified as a possible collocation site due to its scheduled revitalization/ expansion project, its central location in the Walter Johnson Cluster, and a site size that can accommodate both schools.
The roundtable discussion group will include parents and staff from Rock Terrace School and Tilden Middle School, as well as MCPS staff from the departments that oversee school improvement, special education, and school construction. The roundtable discussion group will begin its work in December and will submit a report to the superintendent. Dr. Starr is expected to bring a recommendation to the Board in February.
A planned addition at Ashburton Elementary School in Bethesda would be expanded so the school can accommodate 881 students, instead of the 767 originally planned.
And MCPS says the extra money could bring a feasibility study for a classroom addition and other facility improvements at overcapacity Thomas W. Pyle Middle School in Bethesda — instead of the one auxiliary gymnasium that was approved as part of the current CIP.
The detailed list of Starr’s recommended capital budget changes can be found here.
