The room erupted in applause from supporters of the Havre de Grace Middle/High School replacement project after members of the Harford County Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved a capital improvement program for fiscal 2018 with the replacement school as the top priority.
People wearing maroon "Warrior Proud" T-shirts took up most of the seats in the board meeting room in the A.A. Roberty Building, the school system's Bel Air headquarters.
Board member Tom Fitzpatrick, who lives in Havre de Grace and represents the city and the surrounding area, said the maroon shirts, which were designed with the school colors, made him think about the "tireless efforts" of the community to get a replacement school built.
"It has been a particularly great honor to serve my community in Havre de Grace, and I know how much it means to folks in the community," Fitzpatrick said.
The projected cost of a 240,000-square-foot school designed for up to 1,542 middle and high school students is $99.2 million.
The CIP, which will be submitted to the state next month, includes a total request of $38 million for fiscal 2018 – $10 million from the state and $28 million from the county.
The replacement schools is No. 1 in a list of 40 projects, with funding requests totaling $101.6 million. The school system is requesting $23.1 million in state funds to support major construction projects, such as the Havre de Grace school replacement, plus roof and HVAC repairs in other schools, as well as $75.5 million in county funds for all projects.
School system officials expect construction will start on the new Havre de Grace Middle/High School during the late summer or early fall of 2017 and end by December 2019.
The two-year construction timeline was on track to be finished by the start of the 2017-2018 school year, but the project was delayed after Harford County Executive Barry Glassman curtailed funding for major capital projects after he took office in December 2014.
Glassman, a graduate of HHS, pledged earlier this year to get the project in the funding pipeline and get construction started by the end of his first term in 2018.
The crowd at Monday's meeting included City Councilman David Glenn, a longtime advocate for a replacement to the aging Havre de Grace High School and Havre de Grace Middle School, and Councilman David Martin, who was elected in 2015.
"Because of your efforts, the train is now moving in the right direction," Glenn told board members during the earlier public comment portion of Monday's meeting.
Glenn said the high school is "one of the best-kept secrets in Harford County," but the school is "at a severe disadvantage" compared to other high schools that have modern facilities.
The high school, which has 610 students this year, opened in 1955 – the most recent renovation was in 1984. The middle school opened in 1967, and it has not been significantly renovated. The school has 584 students this year.
"The students of the Havre de Grace community deserve the same opportunities for educational opportunity as students in other parts of the county," Glenn said.
Technology, swimming pool funds
A request of $250,000 to repair the pool at North Harford Middle School, one of three school system pools used for interscholastic swimming and community swim programs, was moved from the lower-priority cost-of-doing-business list to the high-priority list of major construction projects.
Board member Robert Frisch acknowledged the change is a "symbolic effort" to ensure a greater probability of getting funding, but it also shows the board values the pools' use for students and the community.
He noted that not every school district has pools available for both groups.
"I think we ought to at least present the impression that we think it's valuable," he said.
The school system considered closing the aging pools at North Harford, Edgewood and Magnolia middle schools to save money in the fiscal 2017 budget approved in June, but the board approved a one-time transfer from the operating budget fund balance to keep the pools open this year in the face of vehement community opposition.
The $250,000 request for the North Harford Middle pool would cover replacing a ruptured main drain line to stop water from leaking. A contractor must also be hired to determine if the leaking water has caused additional damage to the pool facility, school officials told board members Monday.
Frisch's motion to shift the request was approved, 6-3. President Nancy Reynolds, Vice President Joe Voskuhl and board member Laura Runyeon voted against it. Board member Joseph Hau was absent Monday.
Runyeon said that "while I would love to see us keep the pools," she has "tremendous concerns" about aging classroom technology and a lack of funds to keep it up to date.
After extensive debate, the board unanimously approved a separate motion from Runyeon to move the request for technology refresh to the list of major construction projects and reduce the request from $14.3 million to $7 million, and save the additional $7.3 million for the fiscal 2019 CIP, in the hope of increasing the likelihood the county will provide funding next year.
The money would be used to replace aging computers. The state had mandated that all school systems, including Harford County, have students take standardized PARCC exams online by March 2018, Superintendent Barbara Canavan said.
"I would at least like to send a message that we are committed to providing technology to every student and teacher in the county," Runyeon said.