Renovations at Belle Grove Elementary School could be delayed indefinitely unless funding becomes available as Anne Arundel school officials face a huge backlog of postponed maintenance systemwide.
The school system needs a “formal, consistent process established to determine the availability of funds,”according to a recent audit from the state Department of Legislative Services.
“Our position is that we do have a comprehensive plan, but the funding to execute and implement that plan has been the struggle,” said Alex Szachnowicz, the school system?s chief facility officer.
“It?s a money-driven scenario.”
Deferred maintenance ? the practice of allowing infrastructure to deteriorate by shelving prudent repairs ? has resulted specifically from a lack of funds from the county and state, he said.
The school system constantly is analyzing the maintenance backlog and working with county and state governments to explore alternative funding sources, wrote Superintendent Kevin Maxwell in response to the audit.
Deferred maintenance has fluctuated between about $130 million and $200 million during the past seven years, the auditors found.
For fiscal year 2007, the amount was listed at $161 million, according to the audit from June 2006 and March 2007.
“That $161 million is a pretty big number,” said Legislative Auditor Bruce Myers of the Department of Legislative Services.
“It reminds the school that if you don?t address it, costs go up.”
The audit stated “a policy of continuing to defer maintenance will ultimately result in higher costs than if normal maintenance had occurred.”
Myers said this is because construction costs usually rise each year.
In 2006, a total maintenance backlog for the entire school system was set at $1.5 billion by MGT of American Inc., a national management research and consulting firm, said Szachnowicz.
The school system can reduce this backlog by about $166 million in the proposed fiscal year 2009 capital budget if county and state funds come through and the budget is approved next year, according to schools officials.
AT A GLANCE
These Anne Arundel schools are scheduled to be studied to determine the scope of possible renovations in the school system?s proposed budget.
The studies could be delayed by a lack of county and state funding:
» Belle Grove Elementary School: $7.3 million
» Phoenix Center: $6.7 million
» Annapolis Elementary School: $7.7 million
» Germantown Elementary School: $991,000
» Folger McKinsey Elementary School: $1.1 million
» Point Pleasant Elementary School: $6.5 million
Source: Anne Arundel County Public School System?s proposed fiscal year 2009 capital
