'A win for school children and parents'

On Monday, July 1, the Baltimore County Council overrode County Executive Jonny Olszewski’s veto of Bill 31-24, legislation that will reform the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance.

The APFO, as it is commonly known, is the statute that regulates development in school districts. Baltimore County’s APFO has long been criticized for allowing growth in overcrowded school districts.

The legislation has three important elements.

First, it adjusts the definition of an overcrowded school district from 115 to 105 percent of state-rated capacity. The bill eliminates the “adjacent district” exception that has allowed development to proceed if there is a capacity in another school zone.

The legislation also creates an intergovernmental committee to address school overcrowding, to be staffed by the department of planning.

The legislation was supported by a diverse coalition of community leaders, parents, elected officials, and educators, including the Teachers Association of Baltimore County. The bill was opposed by homebuilders and advocates for affordable housing.

In vetoing Bill 31-24, County Executive Olszewski noted concerns that the legislation would impact our ability to achieve the results of an agreement, crafted by his predecessor Kevin Kamenetz, to construct more affordable housing in Baltimore County.

He commented that “Baltimore County’s Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development testified, and numerous other community stakeholders consistently shared during public testimony, Bill 31-24 jeopardizes Baltimore County’s ability to meet our goals under the County’s Conciliation and Voluntary Compliance Agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

Let’s be very clear. All schoolchildren deserve the opportunity to attend schools that are free from overcrowding. That includes pupils from schools where the county, as required by the aforementioned agreement, is prioritizing new affordable housing units.

Now that the county council has overridden the county executive’s veto, we are on a path that will hopefully improve how Baltimore County addresses enrollment in schools.

I am particularly excited by the new intergovernmental committee that will engage staff from the department of planning, the board of education and other key stakeholders.

Later this year, we will celebrate the opening of Nottingham Middle School, the first new middle school on the eastside in a half-century.

We will also mark the renovation and expansion of Pine Grove Middle School. The last thing we want is for these new campuses to be overcrowded within years of their opening.