Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – Some Poolesville residents say their 70-year-old high school isn’t cutting it anymore, so they want the county to build the community a new one.

Town commissioner president Jerry Klobukowski said there are many problems with the high school. Not every room is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The auditorium’s old, and the gym can’t fit all of the student body. The fact that there aren’t enclosed walkways between the buildings poses a safety issue according to Klobukowksi.

“We don’t want the Taj Mahal. We want to build something that’s right-sized for the community for the Western Montgomery County community and will be able to be adaptable in the future,” Klobukowski said.

He explained the building they want would also include a community center.

Members of the Fair Access community group believe other schools in the county have better facilities, and they feel they deserve the same kinds of facilities even though they’re in the agricultural reserve and have fewer people than communities down county.

The county had planned to renovate the aging building, but some community members are concerned that may not happen. Klobukowski said the superintendent changed the criteria used to determine if schools need upgrades because of overcrowding in schools in the more populated areas of the county.

“After this ‘bumping,’ Western MoCo citizens decided to take the matter into their own hands. They know they’re not being treated fairly by MCPS [Montgomery County Public Schools] because this part of the County doesn’t pull the same resident numbers as lower MoCo,” wrote Fair Access Committee chair Kevin Schramm in an email to WMAL.

Residents will learn next month whether the high school meets the new criteria for renovations. If it doesn’t, Klobucowski said the group will continue pushing for a new high school.

Copyright 2019 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Fair Access For Western Montgomery County)