Talbott Springs plan in dispute
County continues push for new building, while state calls for remodel
State school planners are asking new questions about Howard County’s proposal for a 620-seat Talbott Springs Elementary School, a move officials say could delay construction of a new school or renovation of the existing building by at least a year.
The state has said it won’t earmark funds for a new school, recommending that the county instead remodel the Columbia building. As an alternative, the county could pay all costs for a new facility.
Meeting last week with the Howard County Council, Renee Kamen, the school system’s manager of school planning, said the state has also questioned the size of a proposed new Talbott Springs, saying they “couldn’t wrap their heads around a 620-capacity school.”
The school system wants space for 620 students from kindergarten to fifth grade, according to Kamen.
The school system’s plans have been challenged by the Interagency Commission on School Construction, one group that approves construction dollars.
The IAC has said it favors a plan to remodel the 45-year-old building rather than construct a new $42 million school.
In May, the commission rejected the school system’s appeal for a share of state funds to build a new Talbott Springs after it had determined that a renovation was the “most cost-effective solution.”
The school’s current capacity is 377 students. However, that does not include 10 portable classrooms, which brought the student population to 491 students for the 2017-2018 school year, according to the school’s profile.
Kamen said a new estimate of the number of students who will attend Talbott Springs is “yet to be determined.”
Each year, the county does a study of current and projected student populations.
For Talbott Springs in the next school year, 458 students are projected to attend.
The school system also needs “to clarify the apparent discrepancy” between enrollment projections and the intended new building’s capacity, according to a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Education.
The state has also asked for more information about the “unusual” school boundaries, the neighborhoods served by the school, and about a foreign language immersion program proposed to be based at Talbott Springs.
School board member Kirsten Coombs said the language immersion program would be a first for the county if offered at Talbott Springs, and students could be taught in a specific language such as Spanish, Mandarin or French.
Before any plans are sent to the state, the county school board has to approve them, Coombs said.
The school system had hoped to have
The state has said it won’t earmark funds for a new school, recommending that the county instead remodel the Columbia building. As an alternative, the county could pay all costs for a new facility.
Meeting last week with the Howard County Council, Renee Kamen, the school system’s manager of school planning, said the state has also questioned the size of a proposed new Talbott Springs, saying they “couldn’t wrap their heads around a 620-capacity school.”
The school system wants space for 620 students from kindergarten to fifth grade, according to Kamen.
The school system’s plans have been challenged by the Interagency Commission on School Construction, one group that approves construction dollars.
The IAC has said it favors a plan to remodel the 45-year-old building rather than construct a new $42 million school.
In May, the commission rejected the school system’s appeal for a share of state funds to build a new Talbott Springs after it had determined that a renovation was the “most cost-effective solution.”
The school’s current capacity is 377 students. However, that does not include 10 portable classrooms, which brought the student population to 491 students for the 2017-2018 school year, according to the school’s profile.
Kamen said a new estimate of the number of students who will attend Talbott Springs is “yet to be determined.”
Each year, the county does a study of current and projected student populations.
For Talbott Springs in the next school year, 458 students are projected to attend.
The school system also needs “to clarify the apparent discrepancy” between enrollment projections and the intended new building’s capacity, according to a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Education.
The state has also asked for more information about the “unusual” school boundaries, the neighborhoods served by the school, and about a foreign language immersion program proposed to be based at Talbott Springs.
School board member Kirsten Coombs said the language immersion program would be a first for the county if offered at Talbott Springs, and students could be taught in a specific language such as Spanish, Mandarin or French.
Before any plans are sent to the state, the county school board has to approve them, Coombs said.
The school system had hoped to have
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