The Anne Arundel County Board of Education (BoE) is preparing to redistrict schools in order to address the overcrowding in many county schools and the underutilization of many others. It will take at least two years to complete.
Some issues in our schools can't wait.
After about 18 months of study, the County Administration in early June introduced a bill that continues protection for students in County schools, that addresses the shortage of affordable housing in the county, and makes more efficient use of the county's school construction dollars.
Bill 52-23, currently before the County Council:
prevents new developments of more than 5 homes when a school is at 100% capacity, based on projections three years into the future.
requires the Office of Planning and Zoning to present the schools utilization chart to the County Council by March 1st of each year, including both actual and projected numbers.
requires the Office of Planning and Zoning and AAC Public Schools to publicize the methodology used to determine which schools are open and closed.
allows for a development project to be approved if an adjacent school at that level is “open.”
contains a limited exception to build affordable housing projects where a school might be “closed.”
GAN believe this bill sets the table for the BoE to take on school redistricting over the next two years.
GAN strongly supports Bill 52-23 as written and encourages your support. GAN needs YOU to call, write letters, and testify in person at the Council meeting to tell your regional county reps that you support Bill 52-23 and they should too! It will be heard at the July 3, 2023 County Council meeting. If no amendments are added, the Bill can be voted on at the July 3, 2023 meeting.
You can read the bill here:
And as always, we encourage you to contact your County Council rep to let them know of your support. Their contact info is here: