Schools

School System Takes Over Land on Coca Cola Drive, Project is TBD

Staff said they are undecided whether to build an elementary or middle school at Oxford Square parcel, which the school system now owns.

The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) officially took possession of 20.2 acres on Coca Cola Drive this week but the land designated for a middle school could be repurposed for an elementary school site, officials said.

On Tuesday, HCPSS issued a written statement that it had “officially accepted the grant" of 20.2 acres on Coca Cola Drive. The land is within the proposed development of , whose developer donated the parcel to the school system in 2010.

What the land will become is another question.

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The school board  for a middle school in October 2011.

According to the Jan. 10 statement from HCPSS: “…staff is considering whether to request the board’s approval to use the site as an elementary school."

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The board's chair said it was a possibility.

"It's all one big variable," said Sandra French, chair of the Howard County Board of Education, in a phone interview on Jan. 10.

Ducketts Lane, where HCPSS has been planning to build an elementary school to open by 2013, is now in the middle of .

"If this doesn’t happen, then what?" said French.

Oxford Square has its own set of unique circumstances.

The state is considering building an intermodal facility—a freight station for trains and trucks to swap cargo—less than 2 miles from the Oxford Square school site. That is why the school board, which intended to put an elementary school on Coca Cola Drive when it accepted the land in October 2010, turned away from the site and  for an elementary school in the first place.

"What is our priority?" said French. "Our priority is a commitment to the community to open an elementary school to relieve the overcapacity issue in 2013."

Currently, , and are over-enrolled.

"The major issue is how do we provide a quality education, equitable education, and continue providing a good education for children in the northeastern part of Howard County with all the growth that is there and that continues to come?" said French.

At present, the possibility of swapping sites for the elementary school is not on any of the school board's upcoming agendas.

"That is not on the agenda at all," said French. "But if there were any change, it would have to be at an open meeting."

She said that the statement from HCPSS was intended to make people aware of the transaction and for the school system to express its gratitude.

"We wanted to make it official," said French. "We’ve talked about the site forever but it wasn’t legally deeded." French said the transaction occurred on Dec. 29, 2011.

"We also wanted to thank Mr. [David] Scheffenacker [developer of Oxford Square] by recognizing that offer," she said. "Whatever we build on that site will be as a result of the generosity of Mr. Scheffenacker."

Scheffenacker's representatives could not be reached for comment.

The land donation came with a $4 million donation from Scheffenacker should an elementary school be built on the property by 2014.

The elementary school to serve the northeast is slated to open by 2013; the middle school, by 2014.

"All the balls are in the air," said French.

This article has been corrected; previously, we reported that Mr. Scheffenacker's first name was Preston. It is David.


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