Despite the lack of air-conditioning in campus buildings that forces the schools to close when it's oppressively hot, Youth's Benefit Elementary School and William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary School have been pushed back in the construction timeline.

In a recent facilities report, Cornell Brown, Assistant Superintendent of Operations, announced that, pending funding, Homestead-Wakefield Elementary and John Archer schools would be completed for the 2015-16 school year. That pushes back Youth's Benefit, slated for occupancy in school year 2016-17, and William Paca/Old Post, pushed to 2017-18.

School board members approved the facilities report at Monday's meeting, with Thomas Evans and Rick Grambo absent. Brown emphasized then, again, that the timelines were pending funding and annually analyzed, so the priority list could change.

At a June 13 school board meeting, board members questioned the decision. Grambo asked why projects that were in the early planning stages – Homestead-Wakefield and John Archer – were given priority over projects that were already through the design stages, such as Youth's Benefit.

Brown responded that when Red Pump Elementary School was funded, it pushed the construction timeline for Youth's Benefit back a few years. John Archer, he added, became a higher priority because of the "severe needs" of the students and to build a new John Archer, the system would have to work on Homestead-Wakefield.

At the same meeting, a parent of two Youth's Benefit students, Denise Brant, addressed the board about the air-conditioning problems at the school.

Youth's Benefit and William Paca/Old Post, along with the Alternative Education Program at the Center for Educational Opportunity, are the only three schools in the system with buildings that don't have air-conditioning.

That posed a problem in the last few weeks of school, when all three buildings closed early on two days and one full day because of high temperatures.

Brant's concerns were for her children, ages 6 and 9, who are highly asthmatic and have seasonal allergies. These allergies magnified the asthma and were triggered when classroom windows were opened to accommodate the heat.

The air-conditioning in Youth's Benefit and William Paca/Old Post are set to be fixed in the upcoming school year, according to Teri Kranefeld, manager of communications for the school system, so there shouldn't be any future issues.

Board member Leonard Wheeler, who plans to seek the president's seat once Mark Wolkow resigns, said much of the construction timeline is determined by funding, he said, and projects change yearly based on priority. He did say, however, they are looking at the timeline "very closely."

"We're still trying to make sure we prioritize in terms of needs," he said, adding that it was a challenge, but they were looking to the future.

The Youth's Benefit Parent-Teacher Association, headed by incoming President Laura Runyeon, wrote in an e-mail that they have been vocal about their concerns about the school.

Runyeon wrote that they have made "multiple attempts" to obtain further information from the board of education about the priority change for Youth's Benefit, as well as let the board know their concerns with the change. In addition, she wrote, they have created a subcommittee to advocate for a new building.

"The PTA Executive Board and its subcommittee will continue to monitor the status of the Board of Education Capital Improvements projects," she wrote, "and will continue to advocate for the replacement of the YBES facility on behalf of its constituents."

She also spoke at the board meeting Monday night, in regard to the capital improvement program. The conditions, she added, continue to worsen, citing a leaky roof, "antiquated" open floor plan and lead-filled water. Runyeon also spoke on behalf of William Paca, saying both schools need to be replaced.

Capital Improvement Program

Board members also discussed both the fiscal year 2012 and 2013 capital improvement program requests, which briefly referenced Youth's Benefit and William Paca. In the final 2012 program, replacing the air conditioning at the two schools was not funded for William Paca and Youth's Benefit, but Kranefeld did say they were in the budget to be fixed next school year.

Both projects are considered priority numbers nine and 10 out of a list of 11 and, though the replacement of those schools are listed as priority seven and eight, the school system did not make any requests for local or state funding in 2012 or in the proposed 2013 plan.

The 2012 program includes reimbursements from the state for Bel Air High School at $427,000, Deerfield Elementary School at $1.9 million and Edgewood High School at $13.3 million. A request for Red Pump Elementary School at $4.8 million was denied by the state and another submitted to the state at $10.9 million for 2013.

Other priorities in the program include $300,000 for relocatable classrooms, $950,000 from the state and other sources for roof replacement at North Bend and HVAC repairs at Jarrettsville Elementary School at $759,000 from other sources.

An HVAC project was requested for Magnolia Middle School at priority 4, but not funded and the system did not request funds for the Homestead Wakefield and John Archer projects in 2012.

This, however, changes in 2013, when the system is requesting $2.6 million each for Homestead Wakefield and John Archer from the local level. They also requested $4.9 million total for the Magnolia HVAC project, $2.3 million for North Harford Elementary School's HVAC and $1.7 million for Norrisville Elementary School's HVAC.

Havre de Grace High School roof replacement funding is requested at $1.4 million and air conditioning at the Center for Educational Opportunity is requested at $4 million.

The total request for 2013, as proposed, is $48.8 million, compared to the $16.2 million approved for 2012.