Remaining portables to be removed

This summer the four remaining portables, no longer needed because of Blair's falling population, will be removed, according to MCPS Department of Facilities Management director Dick Hawes. Three portables were already removed in September.

"The student enrollment at [Blair] has declined to the point where it is within the building capacity and portables are no longer justified," Hawes said. The department made the decision with the anticipation that Blair's enrollment will not significantly rise in the future, according to Hawes.

Next year, teachers who taught in the portables will have classrooms inside the building. Social studies teacher David Swaney, who has been teaching in the portables for the past four years, isn't thrilled about the move. "I love the portables. I've got my own kingdom here," he said.

The portables were initially installed before the 2002-2003 school year when Blair's population was around 3,300. Next year, when Northwood High School will accommodate all four grades, Blair's population could drop to as low as 2,650, below capacity for the first time since 1998, according to MCPS demographer Bruce Crispell.