La Plata, MD – The Charles County Commissioners met with staff and members of the Board of Education Tuesday, March 3 to discuss school allocations based on future planned development in the county.

Jason Groth, chief of Resource and Infrastructure Management and Resource Manager John Mudd explained that staff looked at all 36 schools and their available capacity.

“From here, should the community approve it, we would take these allocations to the elementary, middle and high schools to determine the allocation process,” Groth said.

Mudd told the board that a total of 15 individual allocations were granted to two projects, two bulk allocations for minor subdivisions during a six month period ranging from July of last year to this past January.

“The allocations are accord with state-rated capacity,” Mudd said. “The cap of individual schools are determined by individual enrollment.”

Only seven of the county’s elementary schools have capacity, he noted, adding that only five of the seven high schools have capacity.

“La Plata and North Point are both over capacity this year,” he explained, adding that two of the county’s middle schools are over the state rate. “The elementary level will actually be the limiting factor,” he said.

Charles County Commissioner Vice President Ken Robinson [D – District 1] asked if the new St. Charles High School was accounted as a four-year school or a three-year school.

“Yes, that has been accounted for,” Mudd said, adding that at St. Charles there are currently 978 students.

“We do have 1,600 capacity at St. Charles,” he said.

Mudd said staff works closely with the Board of Education on all three levels of education.

“We ensure through BOE that these projects are represented,” he added.

“So the elementary level is where those projects would fail to receive allocations?” Robinson asked.

“Yes,” Mudd responded.

“Based on the information provided, I’m not comfortable,” Commissioner Amanda Stewart [D – District 3] said.

“We don’t use feeder date per se,” Groth said. “We’re not just moving from school to school, but grade to grade. We’re giving out these allocations for the future. That factor on column B where you divide by five, that is diluting the capacity severely. That is an extremely conservative measure.

“I understand exactly what you’re saying,” he said. “We’ve done a tremendous amount of research to support our system. We looked over five years of data ebbs and flows, which were fairly minor.”

“If we have a conserve approach, how did we get overcrowded like at Berry Elementary?” Stewart asked.

“This is where we’re getting into an area like a chicken or egg thing, growth in a specific district over time” Groth noted. “What I can tell you from researching five year trends, the numbers tend to be constant from year to year. You have anomalies, most based on redistricting. It’s a difficult situation.”

“Also, during this five-year comparison schoolwide, we’ve seen a drop in total school buildings,” Mudd added. “We’re seeing a reduction in the middle and high school level. The elementary level has remained fairly constant,” he said.

“Previously, we used schools in the capacity program if we knew a school was going to be built,” Groth said, “we would allocate that capacity. In 2011-12, the board of county commissioners decided to reduce that.”

“For instance, when St. Charles opened, that reallocation took place and that gave us some relief for the other high schools,” Mudd added.

Robinson asked, “With all of the list and all of the math and equations, what are you suggesting?”

“All schools that have capacity beneath the state level, we have granted 15 allocations to two projects, countywide, the last cycle,” Groth stated. “We allocate to seats that exist.”

“I think it would be great if you could give assurances to the number of schools that don’t have capacity,” Robinson said.

“That’s right, and it’s been that way since 2011,” Groth noted.

“I’m not comfortable with it,” Stewart said. “I can’t see it in cases like Diggs when the middle school is already overcrowded.”

“There may be a few districts where the middle and high schools are beyond capacity. There are schools over capacity on all three levels,” Groth explained. “There is no system in the 23 counties of Maryland more accurate than the one in front of us.”

“If you’re increasing the number of children in elementary schools, it seems like there would be overcrowding in a middle school,” Stewart said.

“If the capacity is not there, they will not get an allocation,” Charles County Commissioner President Peter Murphy [D] suggested.

“That’s right,” Groth said.

“I understand the process, I just don’t agree with it,” Stewart noted.

“If I’m correct, all these projects take a while to project,” Commissioner Bobby Rucci [D – District 4] interjected.

“Over the last three years, the numbers have been consistent,” Groth stated.

“When you come back and ask us to approve the final number, maybe they need to go through all of the figures and then have commissioner approval,” Robinson said. “I think we should wait for staff to do the arithmetic and have them come back to us with the final figures.”

“The numbers you have are based on actual enrollment in the schools today,” Groth said. “When you don’t know when a development is going to bring theoretical lots for to build, it’s difficult to save that space in the school. The capacity we give out today isn’t going to be taken tomorrow. These allocations have a life span. They expire due to the economy.”

If the economy tanks, that impacts whether a developer would move forward with their projects, he added.

“We can probably come back in a week and have those numbers for you,” he said.

“There is tremendous interest here to do this right,” Murphy said. “I would be inclined to request to ask you to do that.”

“This way we know what we’re approving,” Robinson concluded.

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com