east silver spring/downcounty consortium parents - impact of development on schools?

[Anonymous]

Parents/residents from east silver spring. There is so much new construction happening in downtown silver spring - the number of cranes and high rises going up is startling. Some buildings look really interesting and neat and there have been lots of new and interesting businesses in the area.

I wonder, however, how will those new residences impact school occupancy in the downcounty consortium? Here is a link to an article that suggests that for now and in foreseeable future most of the new construction in downtown silver spring area will be residences and not commercial space. http://www.gazette.net/article/20130312/NEWS/130319855/1007/highrises-outpace-new-office-space-in-silver-spring&template=gazette

Not to be too blunt, but MCPS, at least in the past, took the view that few people raise children in apartment complexes. Given the changes in the region, that rule of thumb no longer holds true. Many parents at all income levels are opting for housing that makes their commute tenable. I do not know what the mix of housing will wind up being in downtown silver spring, but all the strollers i see spilling out of those buildings every morning and the young professionals buying condos makes me think that some of those folks will still live in downtown silver spring when their children go to elementary school.

Just wondering - are your PTAs advocating on your behalf? Is anyone asking the county to plan now for the kids who will be attending school in the next 5-10 years? Are you satisfied with the planning being done?

[Anonymous]

Several years ago, MCPS decimated Sligo Creek Elementary with a boundary change that moved large numbers of children out of the school. I think a lot of the construction areas fall into the SCES and East Silver Spring Elementary boundaries. The middle school was also well under capacity at the time of the boundary change.

So, no, there really shouldn't be any school population concern. It's actually far worse to have too few kids in a school, like at SCES than to have too many. Too few kids means combo grade classes and minimal resources.