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Clinton resident Rodney Beverly is pleased his children have had the opportunity to go to a small school, but soon his children's school — along with other county schools with low enrollments — could be consolidated as part of a proposal to cut costs in the school system.

With an enrollment of 217 students, about 46 percent of the school's capacity, Fort Washington Forest Elementary is one of several schools that have been identified by Prince George's County school officials as under-enrolled. As the school system anticipates $4.4 million in budget cuts next school year, smaller schools like Fort Washington Forest could face closure.

Officials have not yet said which schools would close or how many would close, only that six schools could be "consolidated" to eliminate 75 jobs in the next budget, which begins in July, according to a presentation by Interim Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. to the school board.

"I would be very disappointed because then my kids would technically be forced to go to their boundary school [Clinton Grove Elementary School], which is already grossly overpopulated, and that school has some structural inconsistencies," Beverly said.

Beverly said he likes the small class sizes at Fort Washington Forest.

Beverly's daughter, now a sixth-grade student at Gwynn Park Middle School, attended Fort Washington Forest through a magnet program and her younger siblings followed. Beverly has two sons currently attending the school, in first and fourth grades.

The family's neighborhood school, Clinton Grove Elementary, has an enrollment of 542 students and a capacity of 459, putting the school at 118 percent of its capacity. The poor condition of the school's facility landed it on the list of the eight schools in most disrepair when school facilities were analyzed in a study by California-based Parsons Corp. The results were presented to the school board in June.

A new Clinton-area elementary school is listed in the school system's priority list for state funding in this year's Capital Improvement Program, a long-range planning document for school construction funding. The school is scheduled for completion in August 2012, according to the CIP.

Beverly said he is not sure what the options for his children's schooling would be if Fort Washington Forest closed, but he is hoping the new Clinton-area elementary school can be expedited.

Schools that have been previously identified by school officials as being under-enrolled include Fort Washington Forest, Columbia Park Elementary in Landover, Benjamin D Foulois Elementary in Suitland, Matthew Henson Elementary in Landover and Thomas Claggett Elementary in District Heights. In the summer, then-Superintendent John E. Deasy had recommended the schools be converted into specialty schools, such as language immersion and performing arts, but the school board was not able to go through with the plan due to lack of money in the budget.

The potential closure is also a concern to parents in neighboring schools who might be required to absorb the students from the closed schools.

"If they're planning to close Fort Washington Forest, where are the kids going to go?" said Accokeek resident Ray Lacy, PTA president at Henry G. Ferguson Elementary in Accokeek. Lacy said Ferguson is too crowded to add students from other schools.

Lacy also objected to the county not saying exactly which schools would close.

School system spokesman John White said that has not yet been determined.

"There's too many questions right now to figure out, ‘OK what is going to happen?'" Lacy said. "We understand the budget cuts and all, and something has to happen. But have a full plan together first, then announce it, then roll it out."

School board member Pat J. Fletcher (Dist. 3), whose district includes several of the under-enrolled schools, emphasized that Hite's recommendations will be analyzed and the board will get input from the public before making a decision. She said the board will look into boundary issues and evening out school enrollments as part of the budget process.

"Nothing is set in stone at this point; we're just in the beginning of our budget process," Fletcher said.

Fletcher said if a decision is made to consolidate the schools, she would like to see the schools reorganized to include some type of specialty program, such as language immersion or performing arts, and give the students in those neighborhoods first option of attending them.

The total proposed school system budget is $1.68 billion and is based on an expected reduction in aid from the county government due to the lagging economy, though the school system expects a slight increase in aid from the state and federal government, according to the proposal. It also proposes to cut a total of 879 jobs from the school system.

The school board is expected to vote on the budget Feb. 18, and then it will go to the County Council for approval.

Public hearings are scheduled on the operating budget Monday at Forestville Military Academy and Jan. 15 at Oxon Hill High School. Both hearings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

For more information on the budget, visit www.pgcps.org.

E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.