Some were dramatic. Some were serious. Some were even funny. All of them were fed up with the deplorable conditions at Mount Hebron High School.
More than 300 people attended Thursday?s public hearing on the Howard County Public School System?s 2009 fiscal year budget. Most of the 40 who spoke backed the school board?s push to address safety and health issues with the 42-year-old school.
The leaking sewage fiasco last school year may be gone, but it certainly is not forgotten by physics teacher Thomas Fruscello.
“As a putrid, fecal-laden river oozed its way to the front of the room, my students held their noses, calmly got their stuff and went into a nearby hallway to finish their exam,” he said. “They did so without a hitch, because they are used to acclimating every day, in smaller ways, to make things work. We of the Mount Hebron community are creative, adaptive and perseverant, but we are tired of it all, and yes, we are angry.”
Even though the school system now says the rat problem is under control, many residents and students still are worried about rodents. Just this week, parent Sue Nass said a mouse in her daughter?s class caused a disruption and odor so great, the teacher had to stop teaching.
“Now you might say, ?Well, at least it?s not a rat!? Nass said as the crowd chuckled. “But I say, ?A rodent by any other name is still a rodent!? And this particular rodent managed to disrupt an entire class.”
Paula Shane, PTA president at Worthington Elementary School, whose students can go to Mount Hebron, was shocked that Mount Hebron has not been adequately addressed given the wealth the county possesses.
Howard County is the wealthiest county in Maryland, one of the wealthiest in the country and consistently is ranked as one of the most desirable places to live, according to CNN and Money Magazine.
“Families are moving here, paying at least a half million or more for a home, and what are they finding? Shane asked. “School buildings in need of roofs, schools in need of mechanical and electrical upgrades, schools not up to current educational specifications and schools not up to current life safety codes.”
Help Mount Hebron chair Cindy Ardinger challenged the school board to meet the community?s expectations.
“We only want a safe building, a facility that comes close to meeting the educational specifications that have been in effect since 1999,” she said, that “creates an environment that fosters education and be assured that there is a well thought out plan to implement the massive improvements without disrupting the learning process.”
Allie Birmingham and Scott Robinson address the school board over conditions at Mount Hebron High School.
