Pyle Addition Feasibility

Thomas W. Pyle Middle School is undoubtedly overcrowded and undersized. In a school with a capacity of 1,289, there is a student population of around 1,535. That is around 250 students over capacity. While 1600 sq. ft. in auxiliary gym space is the normal for the rest of the county, Pyle has only 900 sq. ft. of auxiliary gym space. Finally student population has expanded greatly in recent years. In 2009, an English class would have 29 children, but today, approximately 31 children squeeze together in a English classroom.

However, there looks to be solutions to this in the near future. The Superintendent’s .... FY 2017–2022 Capital Improvements Program, recommends that both Pyle and Whitman build additions to be ready for use in the 2020 school year. However FY 2017…-2022 Capital Improvements Program (CIP), submitted by the County Executive, recommended that the Pyle addition be built by 2021 and the Whitman addition by built by 2022. This plan was submitted to the County Council (the county legislature) who will decide when to fund the additions in the new budget that will be released by June 1st.

The Council will have a hard decision ahead of them regarding the addition to Pyle. While it is true that Pyle desperately needs an addition, there are many more projects around the county that need funding and the Council only has a limited budget to work with. Despite that, if you wish to make a difference, Pyle students can convince adults to sign this petition here: Keep the Pyle Middle School Addition on Track, or attempt to convince your representation within the County Council to support a budget that allots additional money to Capital Improvements.