Schools

School Board Approves $1.5 Billion Construction Funding Request

Upgrades Seneca Valley High School remain postponed by one year.

The Montgomery County Board of Education approved a $1.5 billion capital improvements request that spared and from upgrade delays.

But the approved request preserved one-year postpones to five secondary schools, including Seneca Valley High School, as proposed under Superintendent Joshua P. Starr’s recommended capital improvement program.

The board adopted the amended version of Starr’s proposal during its meeting Thursday night. The amendment keeps Wheaton/Edison modernization projects on schedule for completion by 2016.

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Board member Phillip Kauffman (At-Large), who submitted the amendment, said Wheaton/Edison needed modernization "sooner rather than later."

According to Montgomery County Public Schools System records, feasibility studies place Wheaton next line for modernizations, followed by Seneca Valley  — whose upgrades were scheduled for completion in 2017 instead of 2016 under what the school board adopted.

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"When we maintain this list and we put dates on the list, I think we create expectations in the community where for years and years they see a date associated with their project," Kauffman said. "There's certainly an element of frustration when projects get delayed."

Board member Michael A. Durso (District 5), who represents the northeastern portion of the county, said the board had not done a good job of making Edison more visible. The school offers professional career development programs in which any MCPS high school student can enroll.

"This gives us a chance to give a shot in the arm to a community who — whether right or wrong — is perceived by some as lagging behind others,” said Durso, who said he had a grandson who attended Edison. “I think it’s the right thing to do."

In exchange, the board reduced $4 million in future funds to replace HVAC systems at MCPS facilities, and delayed for two years the funding for a transportation depot and the renovation of the Broome facility for use as a middle school holding facility.

There was already a $150 million backlog of HVAC projects, according to MCPS director of facilities management James Song, who said $28 million a year for the next 10-year period would be needed for proactive and preventative maintenance.

The superintendent's recommendation was $22 million for HVAC expenditures. The board’s approved request reduced the amount to $18 million.

The board’s fiscal year 2013-18 request includes additions to six elementary schools and one middle school and the construction of three new schools. It also adds eight elementary schools to the schedule for future modernization.

The request will be sent to the County Executive and County Council for consideration. The Executive will release his recommended countywide capital budget in January and the Council will make final decisions next spring. 


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