Superintendent George Arlotto today recommended a $172 million FY2020 capital budget to the Board of Education that contains funding for nine major school projects, including the first round of funding for a new Old Mill West High School.
Dr. Arlotto’s recommendation also contains funding for classroom additions, and additions for kindergarten and prekindergarten.
Dr. Arlotto’s request is nearly $44 million less than his recommendation a year ago, and $18 million less than the FY2019 capital budget approved by the County Council. The request allocates nearly $101.6 million to the following existing major projects, in priority order:
- George Cromwell Elementary School renovation (construction), $4.7 million
- Edgewater Elementary School renovation (construction), $24.0 million
- Tyler Heights Elementary School renovation (construction), $19.3 million
- Richard Henry Lee Elementary School renovation (construction), $16.3 million
- Crofton Area High School construction, $24.4 million
- Quarterfield Elementary School (feasibility study), $947,000
- Hillsmere Elementary School (feasibility study), $784,000
- Rippling Woods Elementary School (feasibility study), $1.2 million
- Old Mill West High School (design), $10.0 million
In addition, Dr. Arlotto’s request includes $11 million for prekindergarten and kindergarten additions at Millersville and Linthicum elementary schools and $6 million for classroom additions at Solley and Crofton Woods elementary schools.
Dr. Arlotto also presented the Board with a recommended six-year Capital Improvement Plan which allocates requested funding for projects through FY2025. That plan contains funding for two more high school projects – feasibility study and design funding to renovate Old Mill High School ($7.4 million in FY2023) and design funding for a new West County High School ($11.7 million in FY2024).
The Board will hold a public workshop on Dr. Arlotto’s recommendations at 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 13, in the Board Room at the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis. No public testimony will be taken at the workshop, but testimony will be taken at a public hearing scheduled to be held before the Board takes up initial adoption at its regularly scheduled September 26 meeting. That meeting begins at 7 p.m.
After approval by the Board, the plan will be submitted to the State of Maryland for funding consideration. The plan will also be part of the school system’s overall FY2020 budget request, to be forwarded to the County Executive in February 2019 after the Board holds additional public hearings. The County Council will review that plan and adopt a final capital budget for the school system by June 2019.
The complete recommendation can be found here.