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Superintendent Recommends 68% Fewer Portables

October 26, 2006
Superintendent Recommends Plan to Reduce Portable Classroom Use by 68 Percent Over the Next Six Years

Dr. Jerry D. Weast, superintendent of schools, is recommending a new plan to dramatically reduce the number of portable classrooms used in Montgomery County by 68 percent by the 2012-2013 school year.

Dr. Weast will announce the new plan on Monday, October 30, 2006, at 11 a.m. at Takoma Park Elementary School. Joining Dr. Weast for the announcement will be Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal, Board of Education President Charles Haughey, Board Vice President Sharon Cox, and Board Member Nancy Navarro. Maryland State Delegates Nancy King, Charles Barkley and Jean Cryor also will attend the news conference and discuss legislative efforts to require statewide quality standards for portable classrooms.

Takoma Park Elementary School would be among the first beneficiaries of the new plan to reduce portable classrooms with a recommended 16-room addition. Dr. Weast will be asking the Board and Council to approve the Takoma Park project as part of a $39.9 million package of amendments to the approved Fiscal Year 2007-2012 Capital Improvements Program this year.

With the $39.9 million in amendments and new projects slated to be included in the next full six-year capital plan (FY 2009–2014), the number of portable classrooms in Montgomery County could be significantly reduced from an all-time high of 719 in 2005-06 to 229 in 2012-13.

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