“Keep your money” was what Baltimore County lawmakers told the state Board of Public Works on Wednesday, rejecting $3.9 million for an addition to Loch Raven High School.
The unusual plea by politicians to withhold funding for a project in their districts put them at odds with County Executive Jim Smith. But the board took the rare step of asking for another review of the project, at the same time it approved the full $41 million for public school construction in Baltimore County.
The action came as the board approved a record $340 million for school buildings in the Baltimore region.
A bipartisan array of state legislators and Baltimore County Council members urged the board in person and in writing not to fund the start of the $16 million addition, which would accommodate 400 more students in one of the county?s smallest schools, now holding 975 students.
“Building this addition would be a tragic mistake,” said Sen. James Brochin, a Towson Democrat who asked for a more open public process.
Councilman Bryan McIntire said Schools Superintendent Joe Hairston had told the council in late March or April that the high school addition “was a mistake.”
That contradicted a May 16 letter to the board from Hairston and Smith describing the yearlong public process on the issue. The letter said the school was needed.
But that scenario was disputed by community representative Laurie Taylor Mitchell, who said there was virtually no opportunity for public input. Mitchell also said that little enrollment growth was projected for the school.
Del. Bill Frank, R, and Councilman Joe Bartenfelder, D, said they preferred a new high school in the White Marsh area.
David Lever, head of the Interagency Committee on Construction who had been highly critical of the Baltimore County planning process, recommended the project be sent back to his committee for review.
Treasurer Nancy Kopp said it was unusual for the board to hold up a specific school project, but there was too much confusion about what actually went on in this case. The delay was also supported by Gov. Martin O?Malley and Comptroller Peter Franchot, who had already involved himself in Towson school building issues in opposition to Smith, his potential challenger in 2010.
