Breaking News! BOE to pay $4,142,500 for NW Cluster Elem. Land!

Great news! The Board of Education found $4,142,500!  Are they going to use it to restore full-time counselors at all schools and decrease the counselor to student ratio which is the worst in the state?  No!  They are going to spend that found money on 12.7 acres of land that they decided they "had" to have. (They already have shoes to match.)

Did the BOE have a choice?  Absolutely!  They had a choice of 7 properties. But, they picked the one that was going to be the most expensive to obtain.  They would first have to have the property condemned in a legal proceeding.  And, then, they would have to pay the owner for the property. Of the 7 properties reviewed, this property was rated as the most expensive.

The BOE offered $2,300,000 for the property.

But, they had to pay $4,142,500 to get the land through condemnation.

Fortunately, the BOE has lots of cash sitting around.  No worries.  No extra counselors, but no worries on buying land.

Let's Condemn Private Land for Schools

It's a new low for the Montgomery County Board of Education...

At the January 10, 2012 Board of Education meeting the Board will vote to proceed with requesting that a piece of farmland in Germantown be condemned for use as a school site.  

Northwest Cluster

Initially, think about the legal bills that the taxpayers of Montgomery County will be footing to fund this legal process.  Estimate of cost, anyone?  Remember the Board of Education legal advice comes via no-bid contract awards. Anyone know what taxpayers are paying an hour for these firms to give legal advice to the Board of Education? 


Then, take a look at the list of properties the Board of Education already owns. Remember that many sites are leased out to private entities, and one site in particular is being preserved for use by Comcast and cell tower companies rather than used for public school purposes.  

Close up of NW Cluster

The land the Board of Education wants condemned is in the Northwest Cluster.  It is farmland.  See images for an up close look at the Northwest Cluster of public schools.  The land is known as the Phillips Farm and is shown  with a yellow marker in the center of the Google Map below.  Click on any of the images to enlarge them for easier viewing. You might know this farm.  It's just 2 miles down the road from the Soccer Plex.

Location of farm landCondemnation