When schools are overcrowded, it doesn\u2019t much matter to children (and their parents) whether developers are paying their share of the cost of adding capacity, because kids need space in classrooms (along with gymnasiums and cafeterias) in order to learn and thrive. That\u2019s why the county\u2019s growth rules, known as the Subdivision Staging Policy or SSP, prohibit new residential development in any school cluster where the schools are at 120 percent of capacity.<\/p>\r\n
The \u201cannual school test,\u201d which determines whether a school cluster goes into a residential development moratorium, is applied in July of each year. The impact of a development moratorium is felt as new residential projects in an area are put on hold and, in some cases, subsequently fail to move forward at all because of market changes or the loss of financing.<\/p>\r\n
The SSP is based on the common sense idea that growth should not get ahead of the public infrastructure needed to support it. One problem is that school enrollment growth does not track the overall rate of population growth as closely as you might think. This graph shows the relationship between Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) enrollment and the county\u2019s population over the past few decades, with the school enrollment and total population indexed at 100 in 1990:<\/p>\r\n