More News

At Scotchtown Hills Elementary in Laurel, lunch is a 3½-hour event that starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m., just 25 minutes before dismissal. The school's approach to serving its 687 students — about 20 more than the capacity set by Prince George's County Schools — in seven waves is one way that Scotchtown Hills teachers and staff cope with an overcrowded building, said Principal Tracie Prevost.

"We're doing lunch all day," Prevost said.

Scotchtown Hills is one of eight Laurel schools that are being examined by the Prince George's County Board of Education during phase two of its comprehensive boundary review. Two of the schools —Laurel Elementary and Deerfield Run Elementary — are at 117 percent capacity, and three others are at either 98 or 99 percent of their capacities.

But rather than redoing the boundaries for any of the Laurel schools, county schools Superintendent William Hite Jr. has proposed shifting Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School, which is currently at 77 percent of its capacity, to a sixth- through eighth-grade school and eliminating sixth grade from Deerfield Run, Laurel and Scotchtown Hills. The move would reduce the capacity at the three elementary schools to 106 percent, 107 percent and 91 percent, respectively, according to school board projections.

If approved, the changes would go into effect the next school year.

Lynn McCawley, PGCPS spokeswoman, said a number of factors, including building conditions and transportation costs, are going into the school board's proposals. The PGCPS target capacity is between 87 and 93 percent, she said, but the board also wants to keep students in their neighborhoods.

"It's not just enrollment, because a lot of times you throw a couple of temporaries there and the school still functions beautifully," said McCawley, referring to the mobile classrooms that many schools use.

Laurel Elementary Principal Melinda Lee said overcrowding has not been an issue. Although the school is about 80 students over capacity, Lee said the extra students don't seem as significant when divided among 25 teachers.

"It's not like we have a million temporaries on the school grounds," Lee said.

But Prevost said the extra students at Scotchtown Hills have put a strain on teachers, who are handling the situation as best as they can.

"We're just trying to take it in stride until we can figure out what's going to happen," Prevost said.

The board is set to vote on the boundary proposal in December. Meanwhile, PGCPS is hosting a number of public hearings on the proposed changes. The next meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Frederick Douglass High School in Upper Marlboro.