Compared with the relatively new Century High School less than four miles away, South Carroll High School?s 40-year-old facilities are neglected and in desperate need of upgrades, parents and community leaders said.
“What an exercise in contrast this is,” said Michele Johnson, chairwoman of a task force formed to address the concerns about South Carroll High?s facilities, upon entering the auditorium at Century High.
“Century is a huge investment for this county. But you build a building like that, and you let the one next door rot away ? it?s just not right.”
With newer seats, a larger stage and more advanced sound system, Century?s facilities stood in stark contrast to South Carroll, where the tour of several county high schools began Tuesday.
Johnson described Century as a “palace.”
For years, South Carroll High parents have complained about the school?s inadequacies including:
» Some math classrooms have only three walls and are separated by a bookcase partition.
» The wrestling room is cramped and dirty.
» Some of the science rooms have yet to be upgraded.
» The current 500-seat auditorium is insufficient for the nearly 1,200 students, and the decades-old seats are uncomfortable and cramped.
Students have to go to Century to perform a concert, parents said.
“It?s like a professional theater [at Century],” said South Carroll High Principal Eric King. “This is just a stage.”
Plans to fund a new fine arts center, noted by parents as one of the greatest needs, have been pushed back several times.
School Board Member Patricia Gadberry, who is running for re-election and participated in the tour, said the facilities do not affect the quality of education, and test scores have showed that South Carroll High students are doing well academically.
In last year?s High School Assessments released this week, South Carroll saw increases in algebra, biology and government scores of 29 percentage points, 6.1 percentage points and 3 percentage points, respectively.
