URGENT: The Board of Education votes on March 10th. We must make our voices heard now!

Public Hearing: Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. (Stemmers Run MS)

The Baltimore County Board of Education is about to vote on a boundary change that fails our students.

The Southeast Area Elementary Boundary Study was supposed to fix overcrowding and balance enrollment between Chase, Oliver Beach, and Seneca Elementary Schools. The goal was simple: share the resources efficiently so no single school is overwhelmed.

They have failed to meet this goal.

The Recommended Plan (Option B), which is currently sitting on the Board’s desk, does not balance our schools. Instead, it puts Oliver Beach Elementary at 99% capacity immediately upon implementation.

Why is this a problem?

• No Room for Growth: Starting at 99% capacity means the school is effectively full on Day 1. It leaves zero margin for error or future families moving into the neighborhood.
• Inequitable: The region has enough space to keep all schools around 91% capacity. Instead, Option B leaves some schools with plenty of room (88%) while Oliver Beach is maxed out.
  
  
• Violates Policy: Board Policy 1280 requires the "efficient use of school facilities." Maxing out one school while leaving space in others is the definition of inefficiency.
  
  

The Committee Was Divided This was not a unanimous decision. The committee struggled to find a solution, resulting in a tie vote initially, and eventually passing Option B with only 55% support. This lack of consensus proves that the current options are simply not good enough for our community.

We are asking the Board of Education to:

1. REJECT the recommendation of Option B.
2. INITIATE a new study with a new committee.
3. DEMAND a plan that actually prioritizes equitable utilization (keeping all schools near the regional average).

Please sign this petition to send a clear message to the Board of Education: Do not settle for a flawed plan. Send the committee back to the drawing board to find a solution that works for EVERY family.

Timeline & How You Can Help

We are asking the Board to REJECT Option B and INITIATE a new study. Here is the schedule for the final decision:

FEB 10 (Tuesday): Recommendation Presentation. The plan is formally presented to the Board (6:30 p.m., Greenwood Building E).
FEB 25 (Wednesday): PUBLIC HEARING. This is our chance to speak! We need a packed room at Stemmers Run Middle School Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
MARCH 10 (Tuesday): FINAL VOTE. The Board decides our future.

Please Take These 2 Steps:

1. Sign this petition. We need the numbers to show community consensus at the Public Hearing.

2. Send an Email (Crucial!) Signatures are great, but personal emails get read. Please copy/paste the letter below and email it to the Board members at boe@bcps.org.

Board of Education of Baltimore County
6901 North Charles Street
Towson, MD 21204

Re: Formal Request to Reject the Southeast Area Elementary Boundary Study Recommendation and Initiate a New Study

Dear Honorable Members of the Board of Education:

I am writing to formally request that the Board of Education reject the recommendation of the Southeast Area Elementary Boundary Study Committee, specifically Option B, and direct the Superintendent to initiate a new boundary study with a new committee and explicit instructions to achieve the study’s primary objective. The 2025 study has failed to meet its core mandate: to effectively balance enrollment among Chase, Oliver Beach, and Seneca Elementary Schools.

Policy Basis for Rejection

According to Board Policy 1280, the Board establishes attendance areas to "promote the efficient use of school facilities and resources." Furthermore, Superintendent's Rule 1280 defines the Boundary Change Process as the method to "maximize the delivery of effective instruction by determining the most efficient use of its available resources."

The study committee is also required to consider "long-term enrollment and capacity trends." The recommendation presented to you (Option B) violates these principles by failing to maximize efficiency and ignoring long-term capacity stability, immediately placing one school at near-critical capacity while significant space remains elsewhere.

Evidence of Failure to Balance Enrollment

The primary objective of this study was explicitly stated as: "Balance enrollment among the participating elementary schools." The data confirms that the committee failed to achieve this.

The "Total Study Area" utilization is currently 91%, meaning that if enrollment were truly balanced, every school would sit comfortably near 91% capacity. Instead, the committee produced two flawed options, neither of which achieves equitable distribution.

●      The Recommended Option (Option B) is Inequitable:
Option B, the committee’s final recommendation, results in Oliver Beach Elementary reaching 99% utilization immediately.

○      While Chase and Seneca would drop to 88% utilization, Oliver Beach would be functionally full on day one of implementation.

○      Placing a school at 99% capacity leaves zero margin for error or future growth, directly contradicting the mandate to consider "long-term enrollment" trends. It creates an immediate facility constraint at Oliver Beach, merely shifting the overcrowding crisis rather than solving it.

●      The Alternative (Option A) Was Also Flawed:
Option A, which resulted in a tie vote initially, failed in the opposite direction. It would leave both Chase and Seneca Elementary Schools at 95% utilization.

○      Leaving two schools at 95% capacity does not represent a "balanced" or "efficient" long-term solution when the system-wide average is only 91%.

Conclusion and Request for Action

The committee’s voting record reveals a lack of clear consensus. In the final vote, the recommendation (Option B) passed with only 55.6% support, a deeply divided result that barely cleared the majority threshold. The initial vote resulted in a tie between Option A and Option B, indicating that the committee struggled to identify a high-quality solution among the options provided.

Because the committee failed to capitalize on the available capacity to create a truly balanced system—instead choosing to max out Oliver Beach Elementary at 99%—the recommendation does not serve the best interests of the Southeast Area community or the taxpayer.

I respectfully urge the Board to:

1.     Reject the recommendation of Option B.

2.     Order a new boundary study under Rule 1280.

3.     Appoint a new committee with the specific directive to prioritize equitable utilization (e.g., targeting +/- 5% of the regional average for all schools).

Thank you for your commitment to the efficient and equitable use of Baltimore County Public Schools' facilities.

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Address/ School Affiliation]