Introduction
This is the first part of a series looking at the intersection of MCPS and County Planning.
Clarksburg Background
This article that explains the issues showing in August 2021 the school was more than 200% of capacity. This Change.org petition was signed by over 1,000 people really shows the magnitude of county mistakes:
We, the parents and friends of Clarksburg Elementary School, are deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating learning environment at our school. Our school is built to serve 311 students, and yet our enrollment is approaching 800. This is over 250% utilization of our space. (Editors Note: 250% total utilization or 150% over utilization)
https://www.change.org/p/clarksburg-elementary-parents-give-clarksburges-students-enough-classrooms-space-now?source_location=topic_page
At that time the school had 12 portables; Now it has several more as a short term solution to this problem.
Discrepancies in Planning for new Clarksburg Elementary Schools
The Montgomery County Planning Board is underestimating the number of students generated by new housing developments in Clarksburg as part of the development approval process.
In 2020 The County Council updated the County’s Growth and Infrastructure Policy. Planning did a detailed analysis which recommended Clarksburg be given a special classification known as a “Greenfield Area.” This was due to the high number of students generated by new developments there.
Instead the County Council classified Clarksburg as a “Turnover Impact Area” for the purpose of calculating the number of students generated by new developments.
“Turnover Impact Areas” vs “Greenfield Areas”
“Turnover Impact Areas” are defined as: areas with low housing growth where student enrollment growth is largely due to turnover of existing single-family units.
The student generation rate for Greenfield areas was 50% higher than than the rate for Turnover areas.
Different classification
The County Council has classified new housing developments (which generate a high number of students) in Clarksburg as “Turnover areas”. turnover area where enrollment growth is due to the resale of existing homes.
This underestimates the number of new students generated by new housing developments in Clarksburg as part of the development approval process.
Long Term Results
As a result, combining the existing overcrowding issues at Clarksburg ES with this classification is a recipe for disaster.
Our prediction is that the new Clarksburg Elementary Schools will be overcrowded when they open and may already require portables.