Several Harford County school officials urged the School Board to make a decision soon about whether to create a medical science magnet program at the soon-to-be-rebuilt Bel Air High School.
During a presentation Wednesday outlining how magnet programs are created, Executive Director of Secondary Education David Volrath laid out the case for the proposed medical program, which would tie in with expansions at the nearby Upper Chesapeake Medical Center. Between the expansion of the hospital and biomedical companies looking tomove into the region, the timing is right for a medical magnet program, Volrath said.
Additional guidance and funding could come from Upper Chesapeake Health and different medical research industries, with the bonus of someday adding sorely-needed medical professionals into the job market, he said.
Supervisor of Planning and Construction Kathleen Sanner urged the Board of Education to make a decision soon, as altering the plans for the new school to accommodate the needs of the magnet program could push the opening back past the 2009 goal.
“We?ve delayed the … specifications for Bel Air because of issues with the auditorium and the magnet school,” Sanner said. “The magnet program is the least time-sensitive, but there will come a time when we have to decide what to put in those classrooms.”
The two officials? reports were the latest efforts in the ongoing struggle over which magnet program Bel Air would get: a medical science program tied to the hospital or a performing arts program tied to some parents? and town officials? desire for a larger, community-oriented auditorium.
Cindy Mumby, president of the Bel Air High School Parent-Teacher-Student Association, spoke in favor of creating a larger auditorium at the new school for plays, concerts and community events.
“Such a small auditorium seems like a mismatch, especially if our enrollment projections fall short … These are the events that connect students to the school and parents to the school as well,” Mumby said.
While frantic planning and building in stages could allow a larger auditorium to be accommodated, rearranging the layout and creating additional space could cost an additional $2 million on top of the $75 million price tag of the new school, Sanner said.
The Board will likely vote on the matter in August, but won?t necessarily decide then on where to place the program, said Board PresidentRuth Rich.
