Howard County, Maryland, is aiming to make a big investment in its schools: $105.9 million. That’s how much is in County Executive Calvin Ball’s proposed budget for school construction. It’s the most in at least the last 20 years, according to the county, and it would mean an additional 2,400 spaces for students by next year. “We are building facilities that will foster excellent environments for teaching and learning,” Ball said in a statement Tuesday. The funding would help with the completion of High School No. 13 in Jessup, a replacement for Talbott Springs Elementary and the renovation and addition at Hammond High School.
The investment would also fund renovations for Manor Woods Elementary’s HVAC and wastewater treatment plant; pay for exterior windows and doors at Guilford Elementary; and fund a replacement for the boiler at Jeffers Hill Elementary. According to Ball’s office, 65 of the county’s 76 schools were built before 2000 “and require maintenance attention.” To that point, the county hopes to have spent $78 million more on school construction from fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2023 compared with the total spent during the 2016-2019 fiscal years. Watch the news conference on school construction:
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