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Residents urge action on school capacity, question county bond debt during Washington County public comments
Summary
Speakers at a Washington County public meeting urged officials to address school overcrowding and developer-related capacity costs, criticized rising county bond debt tied to recent water and sewer rate increases, and called for full funding for Hagerstown Community College.
At a Washington County public meeting, residents used the allotted public-comment time to press county officials on school capacity and developer contributions, question the county—s bond debt and recent water and sewer rate increases, and ask for full funding for Hagerstown Community College.
Kristen Alshire, a Hagerstown resident and parent, told the meeting she will see her daughter graduate from Clear Spring High School and receive an associate—s degree from Hagerstown Community College before finishing high school. Alshire said county data show "only 9 of 25 elementary schools in this county are Title 1, and of those 9, 5 or about half are in the city." She said several schools draw students from large parts of the county and that "there are more than a thousand empty seats at every level of education across the school system," adding that South High is "250 kids over capacity" and currently has 17 portables housing roughly a third of its students.
Alshire urged officials to consider those capacity differences when discussing doubling school-related costs charged to developers. "I went to Salem Avenue Elementary, one of the first Title 1 schools in the county," she said, arguing that Title 1 funding and student needs are spread across the county and not solely an "inner city" issue.
Curtis Ray, who said he is running for county commissioner in 2026, criticized the county—s use of bond debt and tied it to recent utility rate increases. "If we didn't take out any of that bond debt and we allocated that money towards water and sewer, we wouldn't have to have the citizens pay a single dollar," Ray said, and warned the county will "officially crest over the 200,000,000" in bond debt. He said the county is considering borrowing "24,000,000 or 22,000,000" while repaying "16,000,000," a difference he described as effectively shifting costs to future taxpayers.
Eric Schwartz, a professor of political science at Hagerstown Community College and a union member, urged the county to provide full funding for the community college. "We serve multiple needs across this community," Schwartz said, noting the college trains law enforcement, public-safety responders, social workers and others.
Bill Johns, identifying himself from Hagerstown, listed several policy priorities he said he supports, including a localized restoration of a bill of rights for the sheriff's department, full funding of the public school budget, investment in supervised housing, and expanded efforts to pick up trash on private property. "We're here to advocate for full funding of public school budget, increased investment in teaching our children how to stay away from harm," Johns said.
No formal votes or motions were taken during the public-comment portion recorded in the transcript. The meeting recessed and was scheduled to resume at 9 a.m., with an evening budget meeting noted by a commenter for later the same day.
The comments represent public input for upcoming budget discussions and planning; speakers raised budgetary and capacity concerns that, if acted on, could affect developer fees, school capacity planning, and county borrowing and utility rates.
