County Must Submit New School Construction Request

By Nelson Hernandez, Ovetta Wiggins and Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, December 18, 2008

Maryland's Interagency Committee on School Construction asked the Prince George's County government and school system Tuesday to submit a new school construction request that takes into account several schools in poor condition.

The letter amounted to a rejection of the county's $137.5 million school construction proposal, which drew the ire of one of the most powerful politicians in Maryland: Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.

Miller (D-Calvert) wrote a letter to the state committee last week, calling the county's proposal "political pandering" and saying it "ignores the true needs [of] our children" because it doesn't take into account an independent engineering study. That study, by Parsons 3D/International, identified eight schools as being most in need of rebuilding, the majority in the southern part of the county. Only one of the schools in the rejected Prince George's construction plan is on the study's list of schools in the worst condition, Miller said.

The committee, headed by State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick, essentially said it agreed with Miller's "important point."

"A truly balanced [capital improvement program] should incorporate at least some of the projects identified through the engineering study as well as projects that are needed for other purposes," the letter said. "The deficiencies in schools identified in the Parsons 3D/I project raise serious concerns about the health and safety of their occupants."

The commission invited county leaders to submit a supplemental request, extending the deadline for an amendment from Dec. 1 to Feb. 1. And if local leaders are thinking of sticking to their proposal, the committee wrote that it could counter such an act by denying them the construction money.

"While the IAC has historically deferred to local jurisdictions in setting funding priorities, the State has an obligation to insure that its significant investment in public school construction is directed toward those students who have the most significant needs," the committee's letter said. "In fact, the IAC will not recommend funding or planning approval for projects that do not meet the State criteria, even if they are prioritized by the local board and government."

System Glitch Stalls Election Workers' Pay

About 245 people who worked in support roles on Election Day have not been paid by the Prince George's County Board of Elections.

County officials said the problem is merely a glitch, and the checks should be mailed in a couple of weeks.

Alisha Alexander, the county elections administrator, said Prince George's has paid $831,600 to 4,296 election judges, and about $66,000 is owed to 245 people who operated telephones and others who provided technical support.

"We had some issues with the new payroll system for them," Alexander said.

One worker, David Taylor, said he called about his money and was told that the checks would not be cut until next year.

But Alexander said workers were told in the fall that checks would arrive within six to eight weeks from Election Day, so the county is within the promised time frame.

Ross Goldstein, a spokesman for the Maryland Board of Elections, said each county determines the compensation given to poll workers. He said the state has no say about when checks are issued.

Alan Centa, an election judge at Glenn Dale Elementary School, said he received his check from the county Dec. 12 and had no idea that others had problems getting their money.

Officials Press Case For Stimulus Funds

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson, members of the County Council and county delegates and senators met with Gov. Martin O'Malley behind closed doors Tuesday in Annapolis.

Their message: We want a say in how to distribute federal funds from the economic stimulus package proposed by President-elect Barack Obama (D).

Still smarting from massive cuts in state funding for road projects that they said hit Prince George's harder than other counties, the Prince Georgians apparently told O'Malley (D) that they would like to help draw up a list of county road projects that could be funded with the federal dollars.

Emerging from the meeting, Johnson (D) said that the priority would be projects that could get underway within 180 days, followed by those ready to go in two to three years.

"We wanted to emphasize to the governor that we want to work internally to determine which roads are designed to foster economic development and place a priority on those," Johnson said. "We're emphasizing that we have a tremendous role to play."

On Dec. 8, Johnson wrote House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) to offer "a clear picture of how a recovery package can work at the local level."

In the letter, Johnson recommended $45.3 million worth of spending on local road and bridge projects that he said could start 90 to 120 days after Obama's inauguration Jan. 20. They include:

· The intersection of Mount Oak, Church and Woodmore roads;

· A Brinkley Road bridge replacement;

· A Bock Road bridge replacement;

· A safety project at Allentown and Brinkley roads;

· A safety project at Chew and Croom Station roads;

· Reconstruction of Temple Hill and Brinkley roads.

Johnson's letter went on to suggest four major regional projects under state purview:

· Branch Avenue reconstruction;

· Suitland Parkway at Route 4;

· Parts of the Intercounty Connector project;

· An Interstate 95 interchange at Contee Road.