David Marks: School Assessment "Unacceptable"

BALTIMORE COUNTY - Baltimore County Councilman David Marks was not satisfied with the recently released assessment of high school needs in northeastern Baltimore County.

Marks called the assessment "unacceptable" and plans to introduce a resolution before the Baltimore County Council that calls for evaluating land for a new high school in the Eastside.

"After months of study, the school system's planning firm ignored the County Council's repeated calls to examine land in the Middle River area for a new high school site," Councilman Marks said. "Instead, the consultant hired by Baltimore County Public Schools is recommending a new large building at Loch Raven High School, something opposed by residents in the past.

Since his election to the Baltimore County Council, Councilman Marks has pushed for new schools to reduce overcrowding, a problem that has vexed the county for decades. He downzoned property to lighten development and prioritized senior housing that does not impact schools.

By 2024, three new schools will have been built in the area that serves the Fifth District. Honeygo Elementary, which opened in 2018; Rossville Elementary, which opened in 2022; and the new middle school on King Avenue, set to open next year.

Marks has proposed evaluating the Lafarge property as a potential school site, which the County Council requested in a resolution in October.

"Baltimore County families are poorly served by super-sized schools that cram students onto already-strained properties," Councilman Marks commented. "It's plainly unacceptable that the school system won't even evaluate undeveloped land."

You can read the complete assessment of high school needs in northeastern Baltimore County here.