My story today on balancing enrollment between two elementary schools in southeast Baltimore County takes a closer look at how being over or under capacity plays out on the ground, within the school buildings themselves. 

What I found particularly interesting was how reality flouted assumptions that some people make about schools that aren't overcrowded.  Having fewer students does not necessarily translate into smaller classes -- a fact that I think is forgotten in the more common (and absolutely necessary) discussions about alleviating overcrowded facilities, such as Rodgers Forge, the county's most overcapacity school.

But redistricting won't solve enrollment problems in every area, as some folks have pointed out to me: In the county's central area, for example, redrawing boundary lines so that every seat in every Towson-area school is filled would still leave the school system about 400 seats short. But of course, some relief, in the form of the so-called Towson West Elementary, is on the way.  (Thanks to Cathi Forbes for this observation today.)