The following comments were read by Laura Runyeon, President of the Youth’s Benefit Elementary School Parent Teacher Association, at the Harford County Board of Education meeting on Monday night. A copy was provided to The Dagger for publication:
Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you this evening. My name is Laura Runyeon and I am the President of the Youth’s Benefit Elementary School PTA.
As you discuss the Capital Improvements Budget this evening, we urge you to consider the following:
In 2007, the Board of Education designated Youth’s Benefit as a school that needed to be replaced. In each year from 2007 through 2010, the Board of Education requested funding for a new Youth’s Benefit facility from the Inter Agency Committee, the state funding source for capital improvement projects.
By 2009 the design process was 95% complete and the design plans were posted in the school buildings. Later in 2009, we were advised that the project was deferred for lack of funding.
In 2011 when the Board of Education went before the IAC for funding requests for 2012, Youth’s Benefit was suddenly removed as a priority for replacement and the request was instead made for a joint John Archer/Homestead Wakefield project.
In the ensuing years since Youth’s Benefit was designated for replacement, the conditions that necessitated replacement have continued to mount. We are a 3 building school that will also need to continue to use its portables. The primary building was built in 1952 and the secondary building in 1965, which makes it along with Wm. Paca the two oldest multi building schools in Harford County.
There are many aging building problems and multiple infrastructure issues that include electrical, roofing, and plumbing. We cannot meet the targets for the Maryland Educational Technology Plan because the infrastructure is insufficient to support electrical upgrades. The existence of lead in the plumbing requires that the drinking water sources be closed and potable water be brought in. The roof in both the primary building and the kindergarten building leak significantly and it is not unusual for children to be sitting on the floor of their classrooms surrounded by buckets to catch the leaking water. We were advised to get a new roof replacement dublin from a proper roofing company. These conditions continue to worsen. In addition, the open floor plan of the secondary building makes it difficult for students to concentrate in their classrooms. The open floor plan concept is an antiquated and long abandoned approach to education. There is significant lack of space and storage. I could continue to list all of the reasons that the school needs to be replaced, but the Board of Education designated Youth’s Benefit for replacement and apparently felt it was warranted as far back as 2007.
In March and again in May of this year, the Youth’s Benefit PTA Executive Board wrote letters to the Board of Education inquiring as to why Youth’s Benefit was removed from the list of priority for replacement. We have yet to receive a response. We continue to lack any insight as to why Youth’s Benefit was dropped below John Archer and Homestead Wakefield for priority.
In the spirit of transparency, the Board of Education should not continue to invest scarce capital funds into design and development for school replacement and then abandon the project for other projects without explanation and without public input.
We urge the Board of Education to fulfill its commitment to replace the Youth’s Benefit aging multi-building facility and to also consider replacing William Paca Old Post’s aging multi-building facility before beginning any other new capital improvement projects. Youth’s Benefit and Wm. Paca together represent more than 10% of the elementary student population of Harford County. By prioritizing these two schools for capital funding, the Board of Education has the opportunity to serve a significant portion of the elementary student population of Harford County.
Thank you.
Laura Runyeon, President of the Youth’s Benefit Elementary School PTA
In all fairness the portables might not be needed if the board had redistricted as recomended!
They we’re already redistricted once, do they have to go through that hard process again?
Yes, the school is falling apart.. I get that. But there is no reason to split up friends from friends just because everyone thinks the school could collapse any minute. Yes, they are in danger but we could make this a win-win situation. They could make a new school, but make a bigger one and just shift the students to that school. The school doesn’t even need to be far away. They could demolish the two schools standing and rebuild two more that are bigger and stronger and put the students right back to their normal lives.
In Southern New Jersey, there are many school buildings that are much older than any here in Harford County. Several were built in the early part of last century and are still in use. They are able to continually use their older buildings because they maintain them correctly throughout the decades, not just patch jobs. The high school where my parents graduated from is still in used and it is over a century old at this point and is in perfect shape with all the newest technology in use. The key is constant, correct maintenance just as you would do to your own home. That is something that is greatly lacking here as seen in many of the buildings I have been in. The newest and the best will be in poor shape in 20 years due to the same reason.
Thank you Mrs. Runyeon for taking a stand, stating accurate facts, and having a backbone. You are 100% correct in your assessment of Fallston’s one and only public elementary school. We have been pushed to the end of the list because of our vital statistics. Where are our elected officials? Why don’t they speak up for us? As long as the YBES community hides in the shadows due to fear of making waves then we’ll never have a lead-free, adequate space, dry facility.
Just to remind the community and others in Harford County. Youth’s Benefit still has the largest amount of students than any other elementary school in Harford County 1072 and the largest Student to Teacher Ratio (17.5%). This should warrant a second look at up-dates and possible expansion efforts down the road. As a REALTOR with MarylandHOMESTeam dot com – Long and Foster and a father of four, I certainly would like to see this consideration.
I believe it is probably just a typo, but the secondary building was not built in 1965. They broke ground for the primary building in 1971 or 1972.
Oops that should have said secondary building. I attended school through the 6th grade 1972/1973 in what is now the primary buiding. We were in portables back then in 5th and 6th grade.
K,
Are you for real? “hide in the shadows” – “fear of making waves” OMG! Fallston is the whiniest community in the county. The rest of us hear about your needs on a regular basis. You were moved back ONE YEAR on the schedule behind the John Archer project. Homestead Wakefield is involved simply to make way for John Archer. Now for the next few years we’ll all get to hear about how Fallston is more deserving and needy than the John Archer population. Your self-important little hole of the county really does have it’s head up it’s rear. Shame on you.
I think your pen name speaks for itself. There certainly is no need to reply to your disgruntled ravings.
Wow…grew up in Fallston and found my way back. Still amazing how many small-minded, passive-aggressive and sad souls call Harford County home and just can’t stand Fallston. Not sure why people take so much time pointing out how much they don’t like the area. Hhmm…maybe I will stay if it is so great that is causes such reactions! It sounds like the infrastructure is a real problem here. Investment in the schools benefits everyone. Maybe there was lead in YOUR water. Anyway, take a pill or ask someone for a hug.
Lead, MTBE, expansion of 152 that will make it look like I-95 a Wal-Mart and 3 series BMWs. You got it all. I hear banjos. Fancy ones.
I have been perplexed by the anti-Fallston sentiment since moving here several years ago. It seems that acting as an advocate for our children becomes whining only as it relates to Fallston.
Acting as advocates for our children and school community is NOT whining! Fallston is a great area to live and we deserve a better school for our children. I appreciate that Mrs. Runyeon has taken the time make a statement and hope her comments motivate other families to rally as well!
Installing new HVAC into an old, crumbling school building is ridiculous! We need to BUILD A NEW SCHOOL! and BUILD IT NOW!
It is only whining when you do so while allowing others to do with far less when they need it more! This is one reason for the resentment.
YRJSJELUS,
My family has lived in in many areas of Harford County for several generations including Fallston. I’ve chosen to come back here as well.
I’m pretty sure that your post is the definition of passive aggressive. Small mindedness may apply as well. I have volunteered at John Archer. Those kids take plenty pills and could use some hugs (and some new administration) if you have any to spare.
The bottled water that is in YBES is probably cleaner that that in any other school in the county and the system that has lead is turned off. The roof should be fixed now and the AC is a debateable investment at this point. No new school will be occupied in less than 5 years at the very best and I’d be willing to bet that it takes longer. Redistricting could have helped several students get out of the current situation for that time and ease the burdon on the building. Seeing how families fought to stay there, it would seem reasonable to say that they felt it was worth having a minimum of the next 5 years worth of students go to school in these conditions in order to remain at YBES in the future.
You are absolutely correct about redistricting. The people in Fallston screamed and pleaded to stay at YBES when many could have moved to Jarrettsville ES (an equally fine school) for less crowded conditions and less problems with the physical plant.
If the problems of a leaky roof are as serious as described then it should be fixed. Plumbing issues may be harder to fix but as long as a safe water supply is being provided that is good enough.
It appears that those in Fallston want a new school and are willing to accept nothing less. With the fiscal realities the county faces perhaps community efforts would be better served if these parents were to focus on needed repairs to the school building which would be much easier to get from a cash strapped county than a new school. Demanding a new school and complaining about being bumped in the order of priority simply will not change the situation for students attending YBES.
I am not a Fallston native so I have no idea what the rivalry/hatred with/of this little unincorporated land mass is about. What I do know 100% is old, leaky, outdated, problematic buildings in other parts of Harford County have been completely leveled and replaced with spanking brand new, modern, high-tech (Promethean Boards included) schools. Edgewood High School is a grand example. I can’t leave out a sparkling state of the art Deerfield Elementary on the other side of soon to be a brand new Edgewood Middle School. It’s sad to see though the complete disregard by the student body of their expensive, up to date facilities. That’s another story for another article. The point is many schools within the HCPS area have been torn down and rebuilt for the same problems, maybe not as bad as what YBES is facing. It’s classic class warfare, so to speak, that Fallston should have nothing and quit whinning. I suppose the opponents of a new YBES or even a remodeled facility think the residents should write personal checks on top of the tax money already paid. Guess what, 99% of Fallston is tapped out like the rest of the country. Back to the subject, you people that dislike the residents of a town are downright odd and frankly quite dangerous.
Edgewood middle can not be replaced for another 20 years since it had a state paid renovation in the last 10 years. There is no plans for a new EMS in the school plan as it seems which BTW opened in 1965. Edgewood High was as old as Youth’s Benefit and Deerfield was about as old too!
There no plans to renovate or replace Edgewood MS.
I’m curious, how many commenters have students that attend YBES? How many well-informed statisticians have spent any time inside both buildings of Youth’s Benefit? FYI, the redistricting guidelines originally presented would not have removed all the students and shuttled them off to Jarrettsville Elementary School.
No but enough so that the portables being whined about would not be needed!
The portables are the most habitable part of YBES – the redistricting plans were a joke in this part of the county. And where is that “over-population?” Today there is a dramatic decrease in enrollment and there’s a new shuffle ahead. Any time anyone brings up the “F” word – Fallston, you can count on the dark underbelly of Harford County to wake up and show their hate. I’d love to hear why. Sadly, it is for the exact reasons K describes – parents simply trying to hold their politicians accountable and to have a safe, reasonably up-to-date school. Wow – that is just awful! One suggestion – if your community has similar issues, get off your can and shake the system up so they realize what’s going on in your school. Not for preferential treatment, that has not been in play at YBES. Money is always shifting along with priorities – it is up to the citizens to work with the political machine to establish those priorities – a very solid case was made to do something about the current YBES buildings, and yes, there are others that need attention sooner rather than later. Knock off the hateful bs – it only reflects poorly on you.
No raises for the families that work to teach your children but you want a new building NOW? Let’s talk a little more about maintenance until we get back on track.
Amazing.