Change in state funding may consolidate school renovation

Friday, Sept. 7, 2007

Maryland legislators this year approved the limited renovation category for schools in hopes for quicker, more widespread improvements to aging schools.

‘‘There have been a lot of changes,” said Kim Howe, supervisor of capital projects, told the St. Mary’s board of education at its meeting last week.

Each year local school systems make formal capital improvement requests to the state. School systems every year anticipate a change to the amount of money allowed by the state per square foot of new building space. ‘‘At this point budgets are going to remain the same,” Howe said.

The St. Mary’s County Board of Education will review this year’s capital improvements program request at its meeting Sept. 12. They will approve a request and send it to the state by Oct. 5.

Fiscal year 2009 state-funded project requests are for the new Evergreen Elementary School, the limited renovation of Leonardtown Middle School, heating and air conditioning renovations at Oakville Elementary School and Benjamin Banneker Elementary School’s early childhood center.

Projects must meet certain specifications and involve specific items to qualify for the state’s new limited renovation category. The state is still working on specific rules and regulations regarding the category, but at this time there is no dollar limit to a limited renovation.

A limited renovation must have five major building systems, such as heating and air conditioning, roof, ceiling, lighting, security, flooring, plumbing, windows or other structural improvement.

Also, the project must result in major changes in support of education. This could include modernization of science labs, media centers, fine arts centers, new technology or painting.

Limited renovation state funding would allow a school system to complete several major components of a school renovation in one fiscal year instead of having to spread it out, Howe said. However, the catch is the state then will not consider funding any additional work to the school for 16 years.

‘‘There are significant benefits to during limited renovations,” Howe said.

The St. Mary’s school system hopes that other projects could qualify for the limited renovation funding, including Spring Ridge Middle School in fiscal year 2011 and Mechanicsville Elementary School the following year.

Mechanicsville Elementary, which was in the capital improvements programs for several projects in outlying years, is now being considered by the school system for a limited renovation, which would combine the projects.

Other projects that could show up next fiscal year include new gymnasium floors at Margaret Brent Middle and Chopticon High schools, renovations to Spring Ridge for the new science, technology, engineering and mathematics academies, planning for a second new elementary school, flooring at various schools and new security entrances at 12 schools. These projects are not eligible for state funding and would be entirely funded out of the local coffers.

E-mail Jesse Yeatman at jyeatman@somdnews.com.