Councilman Marks: Funding Secured to Advance New Middle School

I am pleased to announce that the upcoming Baltimore County budget will include $7 million in funding for a new 1,500 seat middle school in Perry Hall and a 200 to 300 seat addition at Pine Grove Middle School to relieve overcrowding in the northeast area.

Construction on the projects is expected to begin in 2019 with the school and addition opening in 2021. The location of the school will be determined by the Board of Education.

This has been my top priority in the northeast. Starting in 2012, we downzoned thousands of acres of land to lighten the impact of school overcrowding in the Perry Hall area. Now, despite pressure not to raise the property tax rate, the county has allocated funding for two new elementary schools and a middle school.

A new high school is also a priority, but overcrowding is more severe at lower levels--and a high school would likely cost between $80 and $10 million.

Thank you to the County Executive, my colleague Cathy Bevins for her strong support, and School Board member Julie Henn. A huge thanks to all the parents who pushed for this, including Heather Carr Bergan, Þórir Tryggvason, John Kantorski, and the leaders at the Perry Hall Middle School PTSA.