Balto. Co. studying school boundaries in Lutherville

Baltimore County Public Schools are conducting a study to see whether students in Castanea Estates, a new 40-house development underway on the former Chestnut Ridge Golf Course in Lutherville, will go into the Pikesville or the Dulaney high school districts. The development, just west of Falls Road, straddles two districts: Mays Chapel Elementary, Ridgeley Middle and Dulaney High to the east, and Fort Garrison Elementary and Pikesville Middle and High schools to the west. The result of the study would put the entire 40home development in one district. Yara Cheikh, president of the Ridgely Middle School PTA, said the process has been less contentious than many. “There’s much less disagreement because we’re not redistricting children, we’re creating a new boundary, and that by its nature tends to be less controversial,” Cheikh said. CJ Ilardo, a principal with Cignal Corp. and the company’s lead on the project, said the development has multiple families already living in the community. “I’d prefer that the lots be in the Dulaney school district so that all of our community can attend [one] school district,” he said in an email. The effect on school capacity will be minimal, Cheikh said. A school system analysis included in the boundary study determined that the development is expected to bring nine elementary school students, four middle school students and seven high school students into the BCPS system. Melissa Appler, the system’s coordinator for strategic planning, told attendees at an Oct. 29 public information session that the county is soliciting feedback on which schools Castanea Estates students should attend in an online survey, which will be live until Nov. 12. The next step in the process, Appler said, is a Nov. 19 meeting of the study’s 26 committee members, who represent parents and staff from each of the six schools. The committee will decide on one proposal to present to the Baltimore County Board of Education. After a public hearing on Feb. 20, Appler said, the board will make a final decision on March 5. The development is 2.2 miles by car from Mays Chapel Elementary and 6 miles from Fort Garrison Elementary. Any school boundary changes would take effect in July 2019, according to a school system information packet. scheduled to begin in 2020. Mike Fernandez, CEO, founder and chairman of MBF Healthcare Partners, is a member of Loyola's board of trustees. He delivered the Jesuit university’s 2018 commencement address. Fernandez is a Florida resident. He and his family were deported from Cuba to Mexico in 1964 and later relocated to New York City, where he attended a Jesuit high school. “The Jesuit principles are the foundation and formation of who I am today,” Fernandez said in a statement. “I am inspired by the Jesuit ideal of ‘living for and with others.’ I hope future first-generation students at Loyola are inspired when they see an immigrant’s name on a campus building and know the impact they themselves can have on others in the future.” The Rev. Brian F. Linnane, Loyola’s president, thanked the Fernandez family in a statement. “This generous gift will truly make it possible for Loyola to inspire demand and continue to enhance the total education we deliver to each and every one of our students,” he said.