And on it goes: decision delayed in the West Towson Elementary case
The Baltimore County Circuit Court judge presiding over this morning's hearing to stop the construction of West Towson Elementary decided to issue a written ruling on the matter. It's unclear when that will come out.
But I wanted to at least supply you with some of the arguments made in court. The courtroom was pretty full on both sides today - and some kids were even in attendance. The Board of Education's attorneys tried to get the preliminary injunction request thrown out right off the bat, but Judge Michael Finifter also reserved judgment on that score.
As soon as I hear more specifics about when Finifter might release his ruling, I'll let you know.
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
"Ward described what the residents would face during months of construction, including the noise from a generator, HVAC equipment and a propane tank — as well as cranes and 'dozens and dozens of contractors.'"
Seriously? This is the best argument she's got?
Case dismissed.
Posted by: JP | May 21, 2009 5:55 PM
There's a bit more detail on the TFU blog
http://towsonfamiliesunited.com/blog/?p=504
The plaintiffs didn't even bother to show up in court today!
... From TFU
"Ward is asking for a preliminary injunction, which would halt construction until the plaintiffs’ case can be heard in court. To win such an injunction, the plaintiffs have to prove all four of the following: (1) the likelihood they will be successful in court; (2) that they will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction isn’t granted; (3) the balance of interests, showing which party would suffer greater injury ; (4) that what they are asking for benefits the public interest.
Andrew Nussbaum, an attorney representing Baltimore County Public Schools, said the plaintiffs had not brought forth any evidence to prove these things, nor did they produce any witnesses. The law, he said, requires a “full, adversarial hearing” in order to receive a preliminary injunction.
Ward countered that she had filed affidavits proving these points, and that witnesses weren’t necessary. The judge questioned Ward on that point, asking her what she thought a “full, adversarial hearing” meant. Ward responded, “What is happening right here. They’re presenting their case, we’re presenting our case.”
(more)
Posted by: Dave T | May 21, 2009 9:17 PM
sorry to say that i cannot sympathize with the property owners. building schools is a greatly needed for our children and i'm glad that our county is doing it. i have nothing but praise for baltimore county's school system. i'm a product of towson hs and doing quite well. my kids go to lutherville es and school staff are great there.
this kind of petty NIMBYism is exactly what ails our society. there are too many wealthy people wanting to keep everything for themselves, and not be bothered by what the greater public might need. we are a community of people, not isolated individuals. we need to be concerned with society as a whole.
if there was room for a new state of the art school facility behind my property in towson, i'd be happy to support the project.
Posted by: Indie | May 22, 2009 3:22 PM
Just wanted to reply to myself with a correction...
I heard that some of the plaintiffs *did* show up in court, but that they didn't call any witnesses to testify (not even themselves).
Posted by: Dave T | May 22, 2009 6:19 PM
How about this solution? They are going to tear down Carver anyway so why not move Carver to another location and put the elementary students there. Carver is not a community school so it could be located anywhere in the county.
Posted by: bwt | May 25, 2009 7:09 AM
bwt, Carver was built before the board directive to have a minimum 50 acres for a new high school. If you move Carver out, you'd need to have the board change the directive, make an exception, or have a 50-acre site, which the county schools does not have anywhere in the county.
Posted by: Kent | May 25, 2009 10:55 PM