Steve Burns
WMAL.com

ROCKVILLE – (WMAL) The population in Montgomery County is only projected to keep growing, especially in its urban centers, which could exacerbate already-growing school capacity problems. In the meantime, Montgomery County Council Chairman Roger Berliner is asking the school system to come up with a master plan to address school capacity issues.

“It is fundamental to keeping the confidence of our community that we make sure that, as we make conscious decisions to grow in certain parts of our community, that we have school capacity there,” Berliner told reporters Monday.

3,000 new students are coming into their schools every year, Berliner said, and the growth is more manageable in lower levels than higher.

“I think the elementary school situation is basically doable, and the middle school situation is basically doable,” Berliner said. “The high school situation is going to be tough.”

Of particular concern is Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, which Berliner said sits on the smallest plot of land of any high school in the county. With Marriott moving in soon and more growth expected in and around Bethesda, the problems need to be addressed quickly, Berliner said.

“Its capacity to grow is limited. We are going to have to work real hard with our school system to come up with answers,” he said.

At the same time, the County Council is working on a master plan for Bethesda that envisions growth 20 to 30 years in the future, which Berliner said may be daunting to some.

“Many people say, ‘Why are we growing in Bethesda at all?’ The reality is every independent analysis has said that our county will grow significantly over the next 20 years,” Berliner said. “So this isn’t about whether we will grow, this is about managing that growth.”

Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay)