Council Prohibited from Forcing Change of Controversial School Use Policy

Members of several local Parent Teacher Associations from around the county will vent their frustrations over a rule during a County Council meeting tonight. They say it limits community use of school buildings. But council members may only be able to sit and listen.

The policy has become a point of contention between community leaders and some elected officials who are concerned that its increasing application is eroding the school as the center of some communities.

"They don't want citizens on school property, period," said Mary Molinaro, a resident of the Chartley community in Reisterstown and president of the Reisterstown—Owings Mills—Glyndon Coordinating Council.

Molinaro said in recent months she and other groups have had difficulty obtaining permission to use Franklin High School for events. Last year she said she was turned away after seeking to use the high school for a political forum preceding last year's elections. The school wanted her to provide proof that she had a $2 million insurance policy for the event.

"The whole thing is getting absurd," said Molinaro, who did not speak in her capacity as the community association president because the group has not taken an official position.

In recent years the school appears to be applying rules that Molinaro and others say severely limit the use of school buildings and grounds.

Community dumpster days and flea markets around the county, craft fairs at Ridgely Middle School and a community fair once held on the grounds of Perry Hall High School have all had to seek other locations. Community fireworks displays in Catonsville and Loch Raven have also encountered difficulties as a result of the rule.

Some PTA leaders plan to talk about the issue at tonight's council meeting. At least six parents plan to express their concerns and frustration, according to an e-mail Molinaro sent.

But the council may be unable to do anything but relay those concerns to the school board.

Even though the county provides it funding, the school system is a state agency whose policies can not be changed by county officials.

"They only thing we can do as a council is keep the lines of communication open," said Councilwoman Vicki Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat who was once president of the group now led by Molinaro. "As county legislators, we don't have any purview over it."

Almond has been one of the more outspoken council members on the issue of community use of school facilities.

"We need the schools," Almond said. "They're our schools and the community should be able to use them. Community groups are running out of places to meet. I don't think it's right."

Councilman David Marks, a Perry Hall Republican and former president of the Perry Hall Improvement Association, agreed. He said he became frustrated as the school system pushed the Perry Hall Town Fair off its grounds.

Still, he said council members are powerless to change the situation.

"It's a state issue and the legislature will need to change the law," Marks said.

The General Assembly has intervened before—it created a board in Montgomery County that oversees the use of school facilities in that county.

Charlie Herndon, a Baltimore County Public Schools spokesman, said the rules have always been in place, but that they have not always been evenly applied. Some employees were unaware of the rules governing the use of the facilities, Herndon said.

"This doesn't ban anything," Herndon said. "We don't want to ban anything. That's not the business we're in. We recognize schools are community hubs."

The number of events that have encountered issues is relatively small compared to the "hundreds and hundreds of groups who are using our schools."

Herndon said the rules are meant to ensure school facilities and grounds are in good shape and useable for school events. Other events were turned away because the school system believed the organizers were subleasing public facilities for a profit, even making money by charging for access to utilities that are paid for by the school system.

Other events like bingo games were prohibited because the school has policies against games of chance at its facilities. Fireworks displays violate school rules on the use of incendiary devices on school grounds as well as pose liability issues to buildings and the public, Herndon said.

Still, Herndon said the school system is not trying to force the community out.

"We don't say, 'You can't have a dumpster day,'" Herndon said. " We say, 'Let's talk about it.'"