Potomac ES parents ‘not feeling optimistic’

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The County Council and Board of Education are crowing about the ‘‘compromise” they reached regarding overcrowding in the Churchill Cluster. That ‘‘compromise” totally leaves out Potomac Elementary.

Instead of receiving relief in 15 months, when we were supposed to move excess enrollment to the new Kendale school, we will have children in portables for at least six more years. We went from splitting our student body once to splitting them twice, to two different schools, three years apart. Some children will go to Bells Mill, a service area not even adjacent to our own.

The ‘‘compromise” bestows upon Potomac different used trailers from the 20-year-old models currently in place, and fixes up the bathrooms a bit. This money was in the budget before the ‘‘compromise.”

Potomac was first in the queue for an addition several years ago. The addition and the place in the queue were mysteriously taken away. We are now at the bottom of the modernization list, despite being 57 years old and having eight trailers.

The administration admits the school is a dump and that the academic program is ‘‘bare bones.”

Contrary to the comment in the May 24 article, ‘‘Seven Locks battle erodes community’s trust,” Potomac parents are not feeling optimistic.

Heidi Dubin, Potomac