School Construction

Gov. Parris N. Glendening cruised the halls of Perry Hall Middle School yesterday, and then announced to local elected and education officials that he intends to give Baltimore County an additional $3.3 million for school construction next year.The extra money would be used to build additions at the overcrowded Perry Hall middle and high schools, and at Baltimore Highlands Elementary School in the southwestern corner of the county.The funds mean the county would get $9.3 million of the $118 million the state will spend on school construction projects next year.

Howard County will need $48.7 million next fiscal year for 13 school construction projects under the new capital budget proposal from Superintendent Michael E. Hickey.The proposal, which Dr. Hickey will present to the five-member school board at tomorrow night's meeting, reflects school system efforts to keep up with the fast-growing 36,000-student population, which is expected to increase 35 percent in the next 10 years.The 13 projects proposed for the 1996 fiscal year, which will begin July 1, include plans for additions at existing schools as a less-expensive alternative to building new schools.

"BUILD IT and they will come" may still be a philosophy for stadiums, but apparently less so for school construction. Some of the Maryland jurisdictions that have fared well in the school construction derby in the past seem to be taking a harder look at other options.The Maryland Interagency for School Construction is now culling requests for funding and some of the numbers may surprise: Harford County, which has opened seven new schools in the past five years alone to suit its development corridor, didn't ask for a nickel for new schools this time around.

A state committee has approved $6.3 million in school construction funds for Carroll County, with most of the money earmarked for a high school in the southern part of the county.The Interagency Committee for School Construction last week allocated an extra $1.6 million for the project after Carroll school officials appealed to the committee for $13 million in additional funding for a number of building projects, said Vernon Smith, FTC assistant superintendent of administration for county schools.

The school construction conflict between County Executive Charles I. Ecker and his former boss, School Superintendent Michael E. Hickey, is heating up again.Mr. Ecker is worried about the county's mounting long-term debt -- it has more than doubled in five years -- and wants the school system to help reduce it by cutting construction costs 10 percent to 20 percent.Mr. Hickey says the school system already is making a considerable sacrifice by reducing construction projects in the proposed school budget 8.5 percent from previous estimates.

With county schools facing an estimated 13,700 more students by the year 2003, Superintendent Michael E. Hickey is proposing school construction, renovations and additions totaling $250 million over the next 10 years.Of that total, $62.8 million would be used for capital projects in 1994.The long-range plan was announced with the proposed 1994 capital budget Friday and is to be presented to the school board at its regular meeting Thursday.It calls for 13 new schools to open by 2003, including four newly announced schools: two elementary schools -- one in the southeastern part of the county and the other in the west -- a western middle school and an eastern high school.