In a recent letter to Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Tomback, County Executive David Craig underscored his support for replacing Havre de Grace High School and issued a sharp reminder about the county executive’s power over the school system’s capital budget.
But two weeks after his June 22nd letter, Craig’s push for a new Havre de Grace High appeared to go unheeded by Tomback, who on July 9th presented the school board with a capital budget proposal for next year that did not include funding for Havre de Grace High, or any other major projects, in keeping with the school board’s decision to put all such projects on hold pending the outcome of a countywide analysis of school facilities. The comprehensive study was initiated by Harford County government and is expected to take a year or more to complete.
Craig also sent each member of the school board a copy of the letter, which spelled out the county executive’s authority to amend the schools’ capital budget request by citing the county charter:
“As you prepare to adopt your proposed request I feel that it is important for you to know what I support. This is necessary for each of you because of the quote that follows. The Harford County charter sets the guidelines and rules for the adoption of the operating and capital budgets. Here is the key part:
Section 505. FORMULATION OF CAPITAL BUDGET AND CAPITAL PROGRAM. At such time as the County Executive may direct, each agency which receives [or] disburses County funds shall submit to the County Executive an itemized list of the capital projects which each agency proposes to undertake in the ensuing fiscal year and the next succeeding five fiscal years thereafter. The County Executive may amend the capital budget and capital program proposals…”
While not noted in Craig’s letter, county funding for capital projects is subject to final approval by the county council.
Craig’s letter goes on to say that he “strongly” supports the school board’s identified priorities, namely new facilities for Youth’s Benefit Elementary School in Fallston, William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary School in Abingdon, and Homestead-Wakefield Elementary School in Bel Air. Craig also suggests combining two projects into a single construction contract, starting with Havre de Grace High and Youth’s Benefit Elementary, followed by the other two schools two years later.
Craig also concedes that the high school identified for modernization in the school board’s long term capital plans, Joppatowne High, “may need improvement”, but he leaves little doubt regarding his top priority: “I most strongly support, however, a new Havre de Grace High School.”
While the school board has not requested a replacement for Havre de Grace High, the school system has undertaken a scope study, with funding initially proposed by Craig, to explore the options for upgrading the school. The results of the study have not been presented to the school board, but in his letter, Craig backs the option of a new building, saying the lack of new schools in Havre de Grace is not equitable for taxpayers in the city where he still resides and once served as mayor. Craig writes:
“I have seen the various options which include “limited renovation” and modernization. I believe Option D “New Building” is the best one and one I will be willing to fund in FY14.
The Havre de Grace area has over 7300 households and 19,900 residents. Over 1000 students are in the three feeder elementary schools. Yet the people of this area have not received a new school since 1967 when the Havre de Grace Middle School was built. They have paid the taxes for almost 25 new buildings and have received nothing for their children. That is not equitable. This needs to change.”
Craig goes on say that Havre de Grace High should also have a signature or magnet program, invoking the names of prominent alumni to make the case that the school deserves such programs.
“The quality of the education has been great. It has been named a National School of Excellence. In the three branches of local government the leaders of all three are graduates of HHS (Judge William O. Carr – Chief Circuit Court Judge, State Senator Barry Glassman and myself County Executive). Yet it has received no signature programs or magnet programs. This too, needs to change.”
In closing, Craig proposes a meeting with school board members on the matter, but Board President Leonard Wheeler declined to say whether board members would agree to such a meeting, saying through a spokesperson on July 11th that “the Board does not wish to comment on the meeting that the County Executive has requested.”
Asked for a response to Craig’s letter from Superintendent Tomback and Board President Leonard Wheeler, Teri Kranefeld, manager of communications for HCPS, provided the following:
“The FY14 Capital Improvement Plan is currently under consideration; any comment at this time, by the Board of Education or the Superintendent, would be premature.”
Sources say that behind the scenes, opinions from board members are mixed over whether to stick with the decision to put all major projects on hold until the countywide study is complete. When reached for comment, Board Vice-President Rick Grambo told The Dagger that he might consider a major project, with some caveats. “I may support a new school construction project if the request comes from the School Superintendent’s office. There would still be a lot of questions to ask and I would be somewhat skeptical of a request for any new school that was not on the previous CIP [Capital Improvement Program] lists”, Grambo said.
Adding to the uncertainty, Governor Martin O’Malley has yet to fill the school board vacancy created by the January resignation of Havre de Grace businessman Ron Browning, leaving the board with eight members instead of nine, plus a student representative who has limited voting rights.
Whether or not the vacancy is filled, the board faces a deadline of October 15th to submit projects to be considered for state funding for the fiscal year 2014. The next school board meeting is scheduled for August 13th, with a board vote on the capital budget expected at a meeting in September.
Below is the June 22, 2012 letter from County Executive David Craig to Harford Schools Superintendent Robert Tomback.
Cindy, I appreciate your reports on the Board of Education and education in general. The supporting letter is also helpful. Thanks for your work.
No it is not politics as usual. It means that citizens of Havre de Grace are tired of getting the low end of funding from the county. Ever other major town has gotten a new high school. Edgewood, Bel Air, Fallston and it is time we had one. The building still has origins in the early 1950’s and it is due!
Fallston did not get a new high school and decisions on school construction/renovation should not be made based on an “It’s our turn” mentality.
No Fallston got new rec center and new fields……..Craig again plays with us, with his eye on Annapolis.
Gee….a new school for Havre de Grace……do ya think that is politics at work? Yeppers. He wants to get casino gambling on the river…politics….What is wrong with fixing the old school in this hard times of getting money for everything. Didn’t the City of Scranton make their employees wages at minimum wage?
A lot of good people have graduated from Havre de Grace and I happen to like Judge Carr and Barry Glassman, but what does that have to do with building a new school? Does that mean that the colleges they went too should get new buildings.
Wasn’t the Havre de Grace High School torn down and made a new building in the 80’s. I think that the county taxpayer needs to worry about other things, at this point, then building new schools. Do they know that we have to take on teacher pensions and what about all the other county employees?
I think shows were Craig’s priorities are and are not. I think it is politics are ususal. Havre de Grace High should not go to the front of the line, just because Craigs deems it so. I think the study needs to be conducted first and they should focus on giving teachers and staff their yearly steps before they worry about new buildings. He will never get my vote if he runs for governor.
So does this mean that if the Board of Ed decides that a new HdG HS is not the number one priority for the next budget that Craig will provide the school system with the absolute minimum amount of funding?
I guess the answer to that depends on what is proposed by HCPS. He is the County Executive and he gets the final say. That’s how the Charter is written. He has let them know his view. As they say, “A word to the wise . . . “
Why is their not more outrage over this? He is acting like a spoiled brat… “if you don’t do this then I’ll take away your funding”. This guy I a tyran who is making a mockery of the school board and “not so- super” intendant.
Since you have not been in the school or the gymnasium I would not make such comments. The facts are the school is worn out and needs to be replaced…………..If you were to go to the other high schools in Harford County you would see that they are new modern efficient and have been replaced ours has not……….The time for getting our fair share of Harford tax dollars has come…Praise to Harford County Executive David Craig to stand up and support our needs since no one else has! Thanks David and I pray you run for Governor of Maryland!!!!!!!!!!!11
My gut reaction is completely consistent with the others who have commented before me. With my limited knowledge of the details, I’m out raged and skeptical of the true motives.
It seems completely reasonable and appropriate that a thorough study of the overall needs of the education infrastructure for the county be done before making major Capital improvement investments. Since it sounds as though such a study is currently underway, it seems exceedingly foolish to push for such a huge investment like the complete replacement of an existing school when the results of that study are eminent (lets face it, a year or year and half is NOT a long time in the scheme of things).
I particularly agree with the sentiment that, during difficult economic times it’s unwise to commit to such an investment BEFORE a proper triage process has been completed. Unless the building is unsafe and/or it is clearly obvious that it is in such a condition that its far more costly to maintain then to replace, what is the motivation for this push to replace it? One can certainly make educated guesses.
As a resident of Havre de Grace with two children that will likely be attending the High School over the course of the next decade, I am not an impartial observer. Of course I want the best “EDUCATION” for my children. However I also what EFFICIENT and EQUITABLE use of my tax dollars. Prove to me that my children can not obtain an education of comparable quality to any other student in Harford County without this huge investment and that replacement of the current building is the only option and I’m completely willing to argue that such a project should be considered for very high priority. As of yet, I don’t see that case being made.
The simple fact that our high school happens to be older than others seems an extremely week argument. Saying that others have gotten new schools is at least as bad if not worse. To me it’s like saying, those people over there spent money (much of which end up being my money) for a house they didn’t need and couldn’t afford, so now I deserve to do the same thing…(NOTE: I do NOT know that other new schools were not necessary. They may have been completely justified. I’m just making an analogy). We all know where that kind of thinking and acting got the whole world economy. Are we doomed to repeat history for lack of the ability to study it and see the parallels to current events?
Regarding a magnet school…. Again…. Why?!? just because other people have one!?!?! Further, what is the goal of magnet schools? Is it to advance the prestige of the communities they are in and individuals that champion them? Or are they supposed to make our country more competitive by preparing our children to contribute to the more technical and skilled work force that is required these days? If the latter, then again we need to take a good look at when where and why and what kind of magnet schools can contribute to that goal. If a good case can not be made that the magnet school will contribute to such a goal, then should the funds not be spent somewhere else where they can?
I freely admit that I know very little of the details of all of this. I intend to strive to learn as much as I can about the real state of our High School as well as the over all education system in Harford county so I can make more informed decisions about these matters.
I would like to ask that all those who have access to knowledge that could help us as the public fully understand this situation, try to communicate as much of those details as they can. In the words of Cuba Gooding Jr, “Show us the money”. Help us understand why one particular investment will give the better return than another.
I also ask everyone else to try not to be complacent. I personally feel I’m going out on a limb by posting this with my real name, partly to help motivate myself not be complacent. Now I kind of have to put my “money where my mouth is” and go try to find more facts or risk looking really stupid (not that I don’t already).
I urge myself and everyone else to “Think global, but ACT LOCAL”. This is OUR town, OUR county OUR country… we can decide to keep it which will take action and participation or we can hand it (and our money) over to others through in action.
A really, really long post for someone who admits to having little knowledge.
I read the letter. It says that he (Craig) supports 5 new schools and his top choice is Havre de Grace. He is offering them his input to their process of proposing a capital budget. Proposal of the capital budget by each agency is required by the County Charter. Obviously not all 5 will get done and perhaps maybe only one or even none depending on finances and also depending on his priority as County Executive. That’s his prerogative as County Executive whether any of us agree with it or not. There will always be and there has always been a group that wants something different and they will be loudly expressive of their opinion. That’s how it is.
I will say this. If he were just playing favorites with Havre de Grace he could have easily done it in past years and not waited until now.
I don’t have a dog in this fight except to say that the schools we have built in the recent past, in my view, could have been a little less luxurious therefore less costly.
Lets all be clear about this. The construction of new/renovated high schools in Aberdeen, North Harford, Patterson Mill, Bel Air, and Edgwood were already completed or substantially in the works before Mr. Craig became County Executive and he could not change the course of these actions.
Had the economy not tanked in 2008 it is most probable that Youths Benefit and Wm. Paca Old Post Road elementary schools would also have been replaced or currently under construction. Issues surrounding the replacement of Homestead Wakefield and the John Archer schools are less certain. Of this you can be certain that the process for constructing a new Harve de Grace high school would be significantly underway if not for the downturn in the economy.
The economy remains Mr. Craig’s main dilemma in getting a new high school for Harve de Grace. At the national and local level there is little prospect of any significant and sustained uptick in the economy and the needed tax base to support the high cost and long term dept the state and county would have to absorb for almost any new school construction projects. The County Council recognized this fact and refused to approve funding for a new high school in Harve de Grace.
The other issue for Mr. Craig is the process used to evaluate and prioritize school construction projects. These decisions fall under the purview of the school board. Much has been made of the County Council dictating the construction of Red Pump over Campus Hills and some have tried to equate the present situation as being hypocritical of the council for having already done what Mr. Craig is now trying to do. The difference is that both Red Pump and Campus Hills were already approved by the County Executive, County Council, and the State but economic reality set in and funding both was not possible.
Construction of a new Havre de Crace high school had not already been approved before Mr. Craig attempted to disregard the standard vetting process in determining school construction projects and leapfrog Harve de Grace to the front of the list. Mr. Craig realizes time is running out on his desire to have a new high school in his hometown and so he is attempting to strong-arm the school board and County Council with threats to halt all school system capital program funding unless the other parties acquiesce to his demands. This would be a real lose for students and the county as a whole.
At this point it looks like no one has blinked. The council and school board seem prepared to wait for the completion of a planned facilities study, which will not be completed before Mr. Craig leaves office, to determine which county and school system buildings are most in need of replacement or renovation and move the Havre de Grace high school forward. Plus there is no guarantee that Havre de Grace high school will be identified as a school in need of replacement when the study is released.
It appears that Mr. Craig is playing an all or nothing game with a scorched earth game plan should he not get his way. Those who take that approach usually end up with nothing and that would be a sad way to end his political career.
Mr Craig has money to give to multinational millionaires as in $100000 free money , yet has not $325 for each county employee as promised. Where is the funding coming from for a new school?
You need to speak to the HCEA and outgoing President Randy Cerveny about the bonus. Craig had the money but Cerveny and the HCEA stopped it from being paid. Let’s keep our facts straight.