ROSEDALE, Md. — While most parents and students are preparing to end the school year, some are trying to figure out what will happen in the future. The Baltimore County Board of Education is considering a recommendation to close a school in Rosedale.
An older brick structure built in the 1930s that sits on Kenwood Avenue, Golden Ring Middle School has served many students throughout the years.
BCPS is recommending its doors close for good.
“We haven’t heard anybody say that the school as is should stay open, I think a lot of what we’ve heard is that they acknowledge that the facility is very old, if you’ve been to the building, the building needs to be replaced,” said Jane Lichter, who is the Chair of Baltimore County Board of Education.
BCPS outgoing Superintendent Darryl Williams informed the county board of education of the recommendation last month.
When the mic opened for public comment Wednesday evening on the proposal, no parent from Golden Ring Middle School stepped up to speak.
Instead, a parent who has two children at Red House Run Elementary spoke out because her children would have gone to Golden Ring. She expressed disappointment in the lack of communication.
“I’m concerned. I didn’t even hear it. I had to read it in the boundary process study, and I tried to contact the superintendent and superintendent staff and got no responses from them,” said Melissa Moore, whose kids attend Red House Run Elementary.
If the board passes the proposal, Golden Ring Middle School would close in the 2024–2025 school year, moving 900 students to different schools.
It’s part of an ongoing boundary study aimed at improving learning by reducing overcrowding in the area.
But when one door closes, another one opens.
During the same school year, Northeast Middle School, which is under construction, is projected to open and will accommodate over a thousand students.
“If you look at the recommendation that is coming from the committee, the boundary committee, and that was presented last night, it does have the whole Golden Ring attending the new middle school,” said Lichter.
WMAR-2 News caught up with one parent whose child currently goes to Golden Ring Middle School. She says that although her daughter will be moving on to high school when the closure takes place, she does hope it's a smooth transition.
“Hopefully everything is set up smoothly with the new bus routes and those kinds of things, and hopefully they’ll have the same friends at the school so that the children won’t have too much of a concern with going to a new school and a new building,” said Katrina Graffin, whose child attends Golden Ring Middle School.
BCPS says it plans to repurpose the building for future use.
The official vote on the closing of the school is scheduled for May 16. The board will vote on the new boundary line recommendations on June 13.
