S.Md. appeals to state for school construction

Officials from Southern Maryland's school systems were in Annapolis last week making the case for new school construction despite the dismal economic climate.

All three school systems want to get on the State Department of Education's capital projects list, which would put them in line for funding with other school projects throughout the state. Each jurisdiction appealed their cases Thursday to the Interagency Committee on School Construction.

Charles L. Wineland, assistant superintendent of supporting services, said he told panel members they were being near-sighted for not approving Charles County's proposed $70 million high school for 1,600 students. Instead, Maryland approved the school, which would be in the heart of the growing St. Charles community, for 1,300 students, based on state enrollment data for the school's first three years.

"We know in the fourth year the school will be open, it will be over capacity," Wineland said in an interview.

He noted during a meeting with the Charles state delegation last week that the county's high schools are about 1,000 students over capacity combined.

Because most of the planning for the school has been completed, Charles school officials want to get construction bids this summer to get the cheapest price before the economy rebounds, Wineland said.

"We simply cannot afford to build any smaller," Board of Education member Pamela A. Pedersen told the county delegation during a meeting.

She said the board cannot afford to redo the planning, either. "We put a lot of money, thought and attention into this high school for good reason, and we know there won't be another one for some time," she said.

Calvert County staff members also put a lot of thought into the construction process for a new Calvert High School. The project involves building the school in parts to allow students to remain during construction, said George R. Leah Jr., director of school construction. If the state does not approve full funding, the first phase of the project could begin without knocking down the existing school, Leah said.

Calvert has scaled down its capital requests and asked the state for $14 million in construction costs. "The vast majority of that is for Calvert High," School Superintendent Jack Smith said. The county was approved for $3 million, he said.

St. Mary's County staff members told the Board of Education and County Commissioners that they need to be flexible about capital projects this year. During a meeting with the St. Mary's state delegation, county officials did not get a guarantee that the 2010 General Assembly would approve their $25 million bond request.

"Flexibility is the name of the game," commissioners President Francis J. Russell (D) told the school board last week.

He said the state could "throw a monkey wrench" into the county's plans by denying bond authority.

St. Mary's needs that authority to renovate Leonardtown Middle School, which is planned to be finished by August. The school system also wants to get a proposed $24 million elementary school into the state's queue, J. Bradley Clements, chief operating officer for St. Mary's schools, told the school board and county commissioners.

School officials said they expect to hear from the state construction committee in about one week.