NOTTINGHAM, MD—At its Tuesday evening meeting, the Board of Education of Baltimore County voted 6-2 to approve the original recommended school zoning map after delaying finalization of boundary changes for middle schools.

The agreed upon map looks to reduce school capacity to 93% or less. Two board members, Felicia Stolusky and Brenda Savoy, abstained from voting, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Fifth District Councilman David Marks issued the following statement on Tuesday night:

“I applaud and thank the Baltimore County Board of Education for siding with the 71 percent of parents and other stakeholders who supported the plan at the heart of this redistricting strategy.

“This redistricting plan respects historical community boundaries and reflects Baltimore County’s increasing diversity.

“Candidly, this vote should never have been this close, and no Board member from Perry Hall or any Eastside community should have opposed it.

“Thank you especially to School Board members Christina Pumphrey, Julie Henn, and Maggie Domanowski for their support tonight, and Scott Jenkins and Buddy Redmer for their close contact with Julie Henn and me over the past two months. Thank you to my Council colleagues Todd Crandell, Mike Ertel, and Wade Kach for joining me in a letter of support.”

The study is looking at building a new middle school for the northeast area and expanding capacity at Pine Grove Middle School in the central area. Close to one-third of the system’s schools were at or over capacity, according to county school data from last August.