Baltimore County Board Of Education Delays Decision On Middle School Boundary Changes

BALTIMORE COUNTY - At Tuesday's meeting of the Baltimore County Board of Education, members voted to postpone the decision on proposed boundary changes for middle schools in the central and northeast parts of the county.

On March 30, after months of committee meetings and community debate, the Central and Northeast Area Boundary Study Committee submitted the "Option E" map to the board of education.

Map Option E of the Central and Northeast Area Boundary Study. (Credit: Baltimore County Public Schools/ Cropper GIS)

The boundary changes aim to reduce overcrowding at several middle schools, including Cockeysville, Dumbarton, Golden Ring, Loch Raven Technical Academy, Middle River, Parkville, Perry Hall, Ridgely, and Stemmers Run. The main objectives of the boundary study are to establish a new middle school in the northeast area, which will replace the soon-to-be-closed Golden Ring, and to expand the capacity of Pine Grove.

During the meeting, board member Christina Pumphrey proposed an amendment to "Option E." She suggested that students from Halstead Academy be assigned to Dumbarton Middle School instead of Loch Raven Technical Academy, emphasizing the need to enhance student diversity. Pumphrey further expressed that some parents from the elementary school had reached out to her as they felt excluded from the boundary study process.

When asked about data regarding student diversity resulting from the proposed change, Executive Director of Facilities Management Pete Dixit stated that he was unprepared to provide such information, indicating that an impact study would be necessary. However, board member Tiffany Lashawn S. Frempong shared diversity statistics from the materials provided during the boundary study.

Vice Chair Robin L. Harvey then motioned to postpone the boundary study vote until the board could review the impact study results. The board unanimously approved this motion.

At the meeting, parents continued to voice worries about overcrowding, especially in light of ongoing boundary studies. A parent from Hampton Elementary School, which is part of an emergency boundary study due to overcrowding concerns, shared their frustration that their children had experienced three boundary changes in the past three years.

The next meeting of the Baltimore County Board of Education is scheduled for July 11.

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