WASHINGTON — They dot school parking lots across the region. School officials call them “relocatables.”
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley called them “temporary learning shacks.”
For many school systems, the trailers that can be used as extra classrooms, spare offices and more are a fact of life.
In Montgomery County, about 500 portable classrooms are inventoried; according to county documents, 388 are currently in use as extra classroom space.
The Montgomery County school system has asked that $2.25 million be used to rehab existing trailers and buy more portable classrooms as needed to accommodate growth.
Montgomery County Council member Craig Rice, chairman of the council’s Education Committee, said the money should be approved while the county continues to grapple with the need for new school construction as it shoulders the bulk of construction costs.
In Maryland, the state funds school construction based on a formula that takes a county’s wealth into account. Montgomery County officials have long complained that state officials don’t understand that the county’s population growth includes an increase in residents — and students — who have fewer resources and greater needs.
Rice is among the county lawmakers who believe the state should do more to shoulder the cost of education construction: “Right now, we’re currently at about 87 percent funding when it comes to school construction, versus 13 percent from the state. That’s staggering!”
Gov. Larry Hogan has said repeatedly that he’s funded education at record spending levels. That’s in part from a mandated state funding formula that requires operational spending to stay above a certain amount.
In his proposed budget, Hogan called for $314 million in school construction funding across the state.
