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School board reviews proposed ordinance change

Thursday, May 11, 2006

The Frederick County Board of Education reviewed a proposed change to the county’s growth ordinance on Wednesday that would give them more responsibility in scrutinizing development.

Last month, county commissioners voted to go seek public feedback on a proposed change to the county’s ordinance that determines if schools have adequate space after houses are built.

County attorney Kathy Mitchell briefed the school board on the change at their latest meeting, including details of a school adequacy report prepared by school officials. The report takes into account 12 factors to determine if the proposed development would create overcrowding in area schools.

The ordinance looks at “background enrollment growth“ using a three-year average of enrollment data. The proposed change would look at more realistic growth, using factors such as other development in the area, to determine the true impact of adding more homes.

“If this [change] passes, there will be a lot more responsibility in the hands of the Board of Education,“ Mitchell said. “There is more responsibility, but also more control.“

Ray Barnes, facilities director for county schools, said that additional factors allow his office to consider the “pipeline“ of approved development in and area.

“The conclusion could be ... there is not enough room for the development under consideration,“ he said. “This gives staff ...discretion to weigh and balance a multiple set of factors and criteria as to whether or not schools are over 100 percent capacity.“

School board members went through the wording of the change to prepare comments to county commissioners. They will look at their own policy regarding developer-funded school construction projects to make sure there are no conflicts.

On May 17, the planning commission will take feedback from the public when they review the proposed ordinance change.

For more on this story, see next week’s edition of The Gazette.