August 23, 2001|By Laura Lippman | Laura Lippman,SUN STAFF
Pupils at Randallstown Elementary School will have an extra week of summer vacation because the school is in the midst of several construction projects and cannot be ready for the Sept. 4 opening of Baltimore County schools.
Superintendent Joe A. Hairston announced yesterday that the school system would postpone the Randallstown opening until Sept. 10. State schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick has waived the four days for Randallstown pupils, and they will not have to be made up, said county schools spokesman Charles A. Herndon.
Hairston toured the 1909-era building Tuesday before making his decision. The school is in the midst of a $6 million renovation that includes an addition and construction on the bus loop on Marcella Avenue.
"We have a responsibility to ensure that our schools are ready for our students," Hairston said in a written statement. "We know this will inconvenience the school community, but I know that parents and staff at Randallstown will work with us to make sure the school is clean, accommodating, and welcoming when the doors open on Sept. 10."
Baltimore County launched almost 300 renovation and modernization projects this summer at 45 of its 162 schools, which the district has characterized as the largest such effort in its history, with a cost of almost $100 million. Projects are still under way at some of these schools, which are expected to open on time. Pending work will be done after school, in the evenings and on weekends.
Randallstown Principal Marcel Hall said many parents had expected the delay. The school has been calling PTA members and sent a mass mailing to all parents yesterday.
"If you drive up and down Liberty Road [from which the school is visible]," Hall said, "it can't be a surprise. ... [But] I can't wait to get into my school. It's an old building but a good school."
