Board of Education violates own procedures, PTA official says

Facing opposition from parents and other residents who opposed giving up school land to developers, the Montgomery County Board of Education "was moving to make decisions about the properties without following the procedures" the board had set for itself, the Potomac Almanac reports.

Parents discovered the school board's violations while examining land records, according to Roseanne Hurwitz, an area vice president for the Montgomery County Council of PTAs.

The "school board policy is tied to [the] Seven Locks controversy and other plans," Ken Millstone reports in the March 16-22 edition.

"In February [2004], the School Board decided to maintain the Kendale Road site as a school site - the future home of the Seven Locks Replacement School, set to open in 2007 - while a planned renovation at Seven Locks Elementary School around the corner was scrapped," Millstone writes.

"The abrupt switch set off an ongoing controversy, with Seven Locks parents and neighboring community members angry at what they see as the planned demise of the school.

"The Board of Education did not hold a single public hearing devoted to the change in plans, and Seven Locks parents and nearby community members have complained about the process."