Baltimore County Parent And Student Coalition, Inc sent out a statement that the group opposes Baltimore County Council Bill 50-24. They feel bill passage will lead to more overcrowding. Here is their statement:
Earlier this summer, the County Council passed an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance ( APFO ) that addressed adding new developments in overcrowded school districts.
This bill, now law, 31-24, was the first attempt to address overcrowded schools and new development in many years, and one of the changes the bill initiated was creating a Committee on Public School Capacity.
This committee is intended to coordinate with county officials, public school’s officials, including the Board of Education, and the public to prevent school overcrowding caused by new development. It is meant to be a diverse committee of eleven members from a variety of constituencies.
The County Executive vetoed Bill 31-24, but fortunately the County Council was able to override that veto. But now Bill 50 -24 has been introduced, and the Council discussed it at a work session on July 30th.
Bill 50-24, if approved, would weaken the Committee on Public School Capacity’s authority by not allowing them to issue capacity approval certificates for new developments, nor could the committee formally adopt mitigation efforts. In essence the committee only works in an advisory capacity.
Please email all the County Council Members the following to tell them that you oppose Baltimore County Bill 50-24 and why you do.
The Baltimore County Council Legislative Session on Bill-50-24, where the vote on the Bill will be decided, is Monday 8/5/24 at 6:00pm.
