Weast criticized for shutting down SLES in while 17,000 kids are in portables

Superintendent Jerry Weast took criticism from a prominent community leader for continuing his plan to shut down Seven Locks Elementary School while 17,000 county students are still stuck in portable classrooms.

Seven Locks has only one portable classroom, and the temporary building is used for special purposes.

Some are questioning Weast's professed concerns about cost-effectiveness, pointing to his favorable response to County Executive Doug Duncan's request to surplus school land for a high-density subsidized housing project he favors.

"Why is the superintendent saying he’s so concerned about having 17,000 students in portables when he’s still saying he’s planning to close a perfectly good school at Seven Locks?," says Save Seven Locks Coalition leader Sandy Vogelgesang in the Potomac Almanac.