UPDATE: Councilman David Marks has issued the following press release:

Following the release of new enrollment statistics, Baltimore County Councilman David Marks called today for immediate action to deal with severe overcrowding at Perry Hall Middle School.

Perry Hall Middle, a school built for 1,643 students, will enroll more than 2,000 by the 2018-2019 school year. The enrollment climbed far faster than expected in previous reports.

The school currently enrolls 1,851 students, more than 200 students above its state rated capacity of 1,651 pupils. In less than two years, the number of pupils above capacity will more than double, to 2,075 students. The excess enrollment is roughly equivalent to the population of Seven Oaks Elementary School.

Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, who downzoned more than 1,200 acres in eastern Perry Hall to limit development, noted that demographic changes are driving much of the enrollment growth. “Younger families are moving into established neighborhoods, and that is driving much of the overcrowding. Regardless, these statistics prove that we need immediate action in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget. I have asked the County Executive to help by either setting aside land to build a new middle school in Perry Hall or by allocating design money for a middle school in Nottingham.”

Julie Henn, a Board of Education member, added the following: “Julie Henn, a Board of Education member, added the following: “I am very concerned about the rate of growth projected for Perry Hall Middle. The Board of Education establishes geographical attendance areas in order to avoid over utilization of some schools and underutilization of others. Clearly, this is not working as intended. Nor do we have capacity to meet immediate needs in Perry Hall and countywide. I will continue to work with my colleagues on the Board and the Superintendent on immediate and long-term solutions.”

Original story below…

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The crowded conditions at Perry Hall Middle School will not be improving any time soon.

In fact, according to Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, the problem will soon be worsening.

In a Tuesday Facebook post, Councilman Marks said that the school will enroll more than 2,000 students by the 2018-2019 school year.

The school was built for 1,643 students.

Last month, Councilman Marks was stunned to learn that there was suddenly no funding in place to address the overcrowded conditions at the school.

He has been asking Perry Hall residents to flood Superintendent Dallas Dance and County Executive Kevin Kamenetz with calls and emails asking for additional funding to ease the overcrowded conditions at Perry Hall Middle School.

You can read Tuesday’s post from Councilman Marks below: