School Construction

State officials approved more than $161 million in school construction funding Wednesday that will allow school systems in the Baltimore area to undertake renovation projects, tackling problems that include sweltering and overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings and amenities. The Maryland Board of Public Works approved the last round of construction dollars being doled out to schools for fiscal year 2013. The state approved $187.5 million in funding in January, bringing the total amount for school construction projects to nearly $350 million, a more than $85 million increase from fiscal year 2012.

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Editor:  In response to the person who wrote a letter condemning the county for building a new Emergency Operations Center, let me ask:  What was the most important building in the county in February of 2010? Not a school. There was a blizzard - schools were all closed.  What was the most important building in the county in August of 2011? Not a school. There was a hurricane - schools were all closed.  What is the more important building in the county between the middle of June and August?

State officials approved more than $161 million in school construction funding Wednesday that will allow school systems in the Baltimore area to undertake renovation projects, tackling problems that include sweltering and overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings and amenities. The Maryland Board of Public Works approved the last round of construction dollars being doled out to schools for fiscal year 2013. The state approved $187.5 million in funding in January, bringing the total amount for school construction projects to nearly $350 million, a more than $85 million increase from fiscal year 2012.

Three members of a key City Council committee say they oppose Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposal to more than double the city's bottle tax — enough to kill the bill. That has angered supporters of the bill, who accuse Councilman Carl Stokes, the chairman of the council's Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee, of holding back public education. The tax increase is part of the mayor's plan to fix dilapidated schools. Stokes is one of the three council members on the five-member committee who oppose it. "Councilman Stokes is standing as a roadblock toward improving the quality of our schools for our children," said Bishop Douglas Miles, chairman of the interfaith group Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development.

In our recent report, "Buildings for Academic Excellence," the ACLU of Maryland credits the state government, particularly in the last four years, for increasing funding for school construction. That is a significant trend that ought to continue. The ACLU is well aware of the need to upgrade school buildings in many counties across Maryland and has worked in state coalitions, and with leaders like Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith, toward that end. The question is one of scale and local resources.

I was pleased to see the commentary by David Lever in the June 10 Sunpaper regarding the debate over the funding amount and distribution for school construction and renovation in the State of Maryland ("School facilities' foundation of fairness"). I was also pleased to see the support of the IAC (Interagency Committee on School Construction). As an entity, this committee has been in place for almost 40 years. In my past positions in three metro area counties, I have worked with them for 25 years, asking for state support for projects in those counties.

Gov. Martin O'Malley will ask for $350 million in school construction funds in next year's budget, an increase of $40 million, according to a spokeswoman. The governor will announce the funds Tuesday at morning event in Annapolis. He will be joined by House Speaker Michael E. Busch, who has been pushing for an aggressive capital budget to jolt construction jobs in the state. The backdrop for the event will be familiar: Germantown Elementary School in Annapolis. During the 2006 campaign, O'Malley held a news conference at the school to pledge $1 billion in funding if he was elected.

The latest school facilities construction plan, which was presented to the Harford County Board of Education during its meeting June 13, shows once again that the school system and the county government are not on the same page when it comes to planning future school construction. The plan ranks the Homestead Wakefield Elementary reconstruction as the first priority, followed by construction of a new John Archer School, which would be built as an addition to Bel Air Middle. Next in line behind those two will be the renovation or reconstruction of Youth's Benefit Elementary in Fallston, followed by the reconstruction of William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary in Abingdon.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said Thursday afternoon that his school construction requests for the fiscal year starting this summer recognize the need for spending restraint in difficult times, but he said the same economic challenges "make the education of our future work force and leaders more important than ever," according to his prepared remarks. The executive's annual message to the 15-member planning board on capital spending for 2012 offered highlights of a $670 million spending plan.

Three members of a key City Council committee say they oppose Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposal to more than double the city's bottle tax — enough to kill the bill. That has angered supporters of the bill, who accuse Councilman Carl Stokes, the chairman of the council's Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee, of holding back public education. The tax increase is part of the mayor's plan to fix dilapidated schools. Stokes is one of the three council members on the five-member committee who oppose it. "Councilman Stokes is standing as a roadblock toward improving the quality of our schools for our children," said Bishop Douglas Miles, chairman of the interfaith group Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development.

Standing before some 30 activists and Union Square neighbors Saturday in a neon orange T-shirt with the words "I am Baltimore," 16-year-old Antonio Ellis recited a gritty poem about how the city appears through his eyes. "Born and raised in the city, where youth are always misunderstood. / Being judged based on skin color or because they're from the 'hood," the Reginald F. Lewis High School sophomore said in a lyrical rhythm. "Living in the city, where there is little chance to succeed.

Editor:  In response to the person who wrote a letter condemning the county for building a new Emergency Operations Center, let me ask:  What was the most important building in the county in February of 2010? Not a school. There was a blizzard - schools were all closed.  What was the most important building in the county in August of 2011? Not a school. There was a hurricane - schools were all closed.  What is the more important building in the county between the middle of June and August?

Angry phone calls began pouring into The Sun a few months ago, describing renovations that were taking shape in the Baltimore City school system's information technology department as fit for the executive of a private corporation. Meanwhile, city school officials and advocacy organizations were in the heart of the Maryland General Assembly, passionately pushing a borrowing proposal that would leverage millions for school construction and renovation of the system's decrepit facilities.

Outraged education, community and political leaders have called for increased oversight of spending in the Baltimore City school system, amid revelations that about $500,000 was spent to upgrade offices at the district headquarters while city and state leaders fought for funding to fix dilapidated school buildings. Since January 2011, the school system has undertaken 11 renovation projects in eight departments, The Baltimore Sun reported this week. Half of the money went to renovation of a single department: The information technology office, which has spent $250,000 largely to transform an executive suite with new amenities such as interactive white boards.

New furniture, a flat-screen television, decorative light fixtures, interactive white boards — these are among amenities the city school system bought during $500,000 in renovations to the central office, even as administrators decried the state of crumbling school buildings and sought funding to fix them. The biggest project was a $250,000 face lift of an executive suite for the district's chief of information technology, who said the remodeling work was done in part to impress job candidates and repair unsafe conditions.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz is asking state lawmakers to spend $70 million on school construction and renovations throughout the county, saying such projects are his top priority in lean budget times. The county executive, who addressed the county's state lawmakers in Annapolis Tuesday morning, also wants to consolidate some of the county's school and county government functions, such as information technology, nonclassroom purchasing and benefits administration. Kamenetz emphasized that he recognizes the state's tight fiscal situation, so Baltimore County will only ask for "what is absolutely necessary.

The Baltimore city school board voted Tuesday to pass a resolution that supports the plan proposed by schools CEO Andres Alonso to execute a rapid and massive overhaul of the city's debilitating school facilities by borrowing $1.2 billion--six times more than the school system's current bonding authority, and an amount that far exceeds the $300 milllion plan proposed by the mayor. The plan is notably different than the one proposed by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who has remained non-commital since Alonso appeared in Annapolis.

Baltimore City has a serious problem with run-down, antiquated school facilities. They represent a major impediment to progress in improving the education of Baltimore children and a drag on the city's efforts to shake off decades of decline. MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake's plan to fund a new school construction and renovation program through an extension and increase in the city's bottle tax may not be the perfect solution, but it is a good start. The beverage industry has mounted a campaign of opposition to the proposal that borders on the hysterical.

Teachers, students, retailers and beverage industry lobbyists are preparing for a showdown Wednesday as the battle over raising Baltimore's bottle tax to fund school repairs moves to a skeptical City Council committee. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake wants to increase the tax from 2 cents to 5 cents and use the proceeds to float bonds. The mayor, who saw her school construction initiatives wither in the General Assembly, is pushing the council to quickly pass the tax, although it would not go into effect for more than a year.