The Harford County Board of Education plans a March 24th business meeting to include recognition of top student athletes, proposed changes to the school calendar policy, and an update on a planned analysis of school facilities.
First on the agenda, the Board will recognize the following student athletes and teams that won state championships or sportsmanship awards for the winter sports season.
The C. Milton Wright High School girls swim team won the Class 3A/2A/1A Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association (MPSSAA) championship with coach Cathy Bendis and team members Erika Abshire, Anne Capozzoli, Jillian Carter, Megan Cowan, Maggie Gallagher, Courtney Gangl, Jamie Hurz, Lindsey Jackson, Gabby Jordan, Julia O’Mara, Lauren O’Mara, Lauren Rutherford and Erika Slotnick.
The Patterson Mill High School girls basketball team won the 2A MPSSAA state championship with Holly Ismail (head coach); Brian Tallon and Mike West (assistant coaches); and team members Stephanie Ehly, Kate Ekhart, Khayla Mitchell, Samantha Herman, Emily Regester, Chyna Latimer, Anastasia Barnes, Qalea Ismail, Samantha Ditmar, Delaney Damico and Gabrielle Chenworth.
Individual state winners for swimming were: Erika Abshire, Julia O’Mara, Gabby Jordan, and Anne Capozzoli (200-yard medley relay); Megan Cowan (200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle relay); Lauren Rutherford, Erika Slotnick, Lauren O’Mara, and Megan Cowan (400-yard freestyle relay); Julia O’Mara, Megan Cowan, Lauren Rutherford, and Lauren O’Mara (200-yard freestyle relay); and Lauren O’Mara (100-yard breaststroke) all from C. Milton Wright High for Class 3A/2A/1A.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference (UCBAC) Sportsmanship award winners were: the North Harford High School boys basketball team and the Bel Air High School wrestling team for the Chesapeake Division; the Harford Technical High boys basketball team and the C. Milton Wright High wrestling team for the Susquehanna Division; and the Harford Technical High School boys and girls swim teams.
Next on the agenda, the Board is set to approve a lengthy consent agenda, including the monthly report on personnel who have left the school system, been placed on leaves of absence, or are newly employed. The complete personnel report can be accessed via the link published below.
The consent agenda also includes contract award recommendations for the following projects:
• Fallston High School Systemic HVAC Renovation: As the lowest responsive and responsible base bidder on the construction contract, Phillips Way, Inc. is recommended for a contract award totaling $13,406,000.
• New World History Textbooks for High School: Education publisher Pearson Education Inc. is recommended for a $231,952.38 contract award for Prentice Hall World History textbooks and related support materials to replace ten-year-old books currently in use. Copyright materials are not competitively bid. A HCPS committee of social studies educators recommended the new books to align with the revised World History curriculum being implemented next school year.
• New Exterior Doors for Aberdeen Middle School: Hayes Construction of Phoenix, MD is recommended for a $243,353.61 contract award to remove and replace all existing exterior doors at the school. The contracting vehicle for this project is University of Maryland, On-Call Contracting Services Contract #C-00634.
• Norrisville Elementary School HVAC Systemic Renovation: Lowest responsive and responsible base bidder Towson Mechanical, Inc. is recommended for a contract award totaling $2,693,400.
• Magnolia Middle School Riparian Forest Buffer Planting: This joint project between HCPS and the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning will include student participation in tree plantings on school property to expand the riparian buffer along a stream of the Gunpowder River. Funding for the $9,838 project is to be provided by a state grant.
• North Harford High School Forest Buffer Planting: Similar to the Magnolia Middle project above, this project will involve North Harford High students in expanding the riparian buffer along a stream that drains into Broad Creek. Funding for the $5,780 project will come from state grants.
• Upgrades to Building Automation Systems at 20 schools: Devices that monitor and control HVAC systems will get a $397,354 upgrade in a proposed contract award to Johnson Controls, Inc. According to the published proposal, “The new system will enhance the security and compatibility of all components. It will allow additional control for adjustments at each school location….HCPS currently has a [Johnson Controls] server located in [the HCPS Office of Technology and Information Services]. In order to have communication throughout the system, the controls need to be Johnson Controls equipment.”
• Fallston High School Baseball Scoreboard Replacement: The Cougar Boosters Club is requesting approval of its plan to buy a wireless Daktronics baseball scoreboard to replace the existing scoreboard, which is reportedly beyond repair. The booster club will pay the entire cost of the $10,425 project.
Next on the meeting agenda, Jean Mantegna, assistant superintendent for human resources, will present for Board action the names of candidates recommended by Superintendent Barbara Canavan for promotion and/or appointment.
Presentations on the meeting agenda include a recommendation that the Board appoint attorney and retired law school professor Jerome E. Deise to a five-year term to fill a vacancy on the Board Ethics Panel. The five-member panel is charged with implementing the Board Ethics Policy.
Next, General Counsel Patrick Spicer will present a proposed policy revision that discontinues the annual formation of a calendar committee in favor of seeking general public input in developing the school calendar.
Under the current School Calendar Policy, the Board annually appoints selected school and community representatives to an ad hoc calendar committee. The committee then develops a recommended school calendar that meets the many federal, state and local requirements affecting school days and holidays.
The proposed policy revision would require the Board to seek general public input on calendar development, with an input window of no less than 60 days prior to the annual approval of a school calendar. In addition, the lead time for Board approval would be cut from the current 14 month minimum to no later than 8 months before the start of the affected school year.
Next on the meeting agenda is a status report on the Countywide Facilities Master Plan including public school facilities. The framework for the countywide plan is to be based on an independent analysis of facility conditions and functionality, and prioritization of critical needs. No further information was published as of press time for this agenda item.
Last on the meeting agenda is a report from Superintendent Canavan.
The March 24th board business meeting is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the A.A. Roberty Building in Bel Air, with a public comment period scheduled for 6:50 p.m. The complete published agenda appears below. Please note that published agendas are subject to change.
Agenda
Monday, March 24, 2014
Board Open Session – 5:25 PM – Board Room
Board Closed Session – 5:30 PM – Board Executive Conference Room
Board Business Meeting – 6:30 PM – Board Room
*Times are approximate6:30 PM
Call to Order – Mrs. Nancy Reynolds, President
Quorum Roll Call
Adoption of Agenda
Pledge of Allegiance6:35 PM Recognition MPSSAA state winners (Goal 2)
6:50 PM Public Comment
7:05 PM Board Member Reports and Comments
Old Business
Action Item(s):
7:20 PM A. Consent Agenda:1) Monthly Report on Personnel (Goal 3)
2) Minutes of Previous Board Business Meeting: March 10 2014 (Goals 1 – 4)
3) Contract for Benefits Enrollment Services (Goal 3)
4) Contract Award: Fallston High School HVAC Renovation (Goal 4)
5) Contract Award: Social Studies Resources for High Schools (Goal 1)
6) Contract Award: Aberdeen Middle School Exterior Doors and Hardware (Goal 4)
7) Contract Award: Norrisville Elementary School HVAC Renovation (Goal 4)
8) School Sponsored Project: Magnolia Middle School Riparian Forest Buffer Planting (Goal 4)
9) School Sponsored Project: North Harford High School Riparian Forest Buffer Planting (Goal 4)
10) Building Automation System (BAS) Supervisory Device Upgrade Project (Goal 4)
11) Fallston High School Scoreboard Replacement
– Installation Wireless Baseball Scoreboard (Goal 4)
New Business
Action Item(s):
7:25 PM B. Decision on Appointments and Promotions, Mrs. Jean A. Mantegna (Goal 3)
Presentation(s):7:45 PM C. Candidate for Board of Education Ethics Panel Position, Patrick P. Spicer, Esq. (Goals 1 – 4)
7:50 PM D. Presentation on HCPS Board Policy: Patrick P. Spicer, Esq. (Goals 1-4)
– School Calendar (No. 20-0002-000)8:10 PM E. Status of Countywide Facilities Master Plan, Mr. Cornell S. Brown
– Board Informational Report
– PowerPoint Presentation8:40 PM F. Superintendent’s Report
Closing
8:50 PM Future Meetings Review
Adjournment
250k for exterior doors?????? Are these doors made out of gold? 13.4 MILLION to renovate one high school’s HVAC? This is why the school system is broken.
That was the lowest responsible bid!!!!!
Even if it’s 100 doors it’s way over real costs. Contractors love government work because the government doesn’t care how absurb the costs are they just pay it. How’s about they go down to home depot, buy a bunch of doors and get the maintenance guys to install them. Extrapolate that out to every school district, every city, county, state and then the defense department and all other agencies…count it all up and you get to 18 trillion and counting.
Old work renovations are a pain in the rear because you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get into.
A school is also going to have a ton of exterior doors, all of which require alarm integration, fire code compliance, etc. A security steel double door unit on Grainger is $1733 each (and that is complete steel face, not the half glass most schools use). Then add in the labor for the masons, welders, painters, carpenters, electricians, locksmith, etc, and you hit $250k easily.
And don’t forget the $300+ for a latch, or $700+ for an electronic emergency-exit-only lock, $200+ for a closer, $120+ for any electromagnetic door holders, etc.
So where do the specs come from? Certainly nobody within the school district is creating door specifications on thier own. That’s where the corruption comes in. The reason the government pays too much for nearly everything is not just inefficiency; it’s also the corrupting influence of industry helping push often overblown and unnecessary specs. I would really be interested in just how many doors we’re talking about. So far even if I assume it’s 3300/door there better be at least 73 doors or the math doesn’t add up. I promise you the spec is so far beyond real need or efficacy it would blow you away.
The fire and building codes are where all the attributes come from.
No Cdev it wasn’t the lowest responsible bid. It was a designated MBE project set aside as are many of these government projects. That means you don’t have to be the lowest bidder, do the best work, perform to anything above minimal level…just how many exterior doors can there be? What were the specs? So reassuring to know the government is more concerned with the minority status of the companies awarded contracts rather than the value to the taxpayers.
The article should have mentioned how many doors were being replaced.
Instead of whining about the article not having how many doors were being replaced, why don’t you go to the Board meetings yourself to ask the question?
There is a lot more to this HVAC replacement than you might think.
Must be if they can build the new emergency management building for 3 times what the HVAC costs in a single school.
Building from scratch is always cheaper than trying to retrofit an existing facility while trying to work around the school schedule.
I just paid $8000 for a new system in my existing home. Perhaps the school should call Blue Dot they could install 1675 of the same unit I have in each single room, Does Fallston even have 1675 rooms?
We are not talking about off the shelf residential applications here. This is an industrial capacity project with all the implications that go with a retrofit of this size. The components are specifically engineered and then built to meet specifications. Plus there is more to the project than just the HVAC.
I know, that’s why I think installing 1675 individual units would be a better solution.
Heck there are only 1200 students at Falston they could give each one of them their own personal HVAC unit and save 3 million dollars.
Did you think about the window frame modifications that would require and the building security issues this could create? What about all those areas that do not have window access? How about the added electrical upgrades necessary to each room that would need to handle to extra load? A project of this scope does not allow for a simplistic or unrealistic approach to meet the long term (30 plus years) needs of the building and its’ occupants.
Here is the biggest part of the problem, the hvac equipment, just like any other equipment is not properly maintained. The root cause to this is the following:
Not enough trained employees
lack of motivation from hvac employees and preventive maintenance crews who sometimes don’t do anything all day long and hide at wawa.
No real established PM program.
Use of contractors who Rip the school system off (inferior products) and NO training for employees to maintain expensive, high tech equipment.
Contractors fail to complete the job
No follow up between contractors and those signing the contracts
those signing the contracts are most of the times not knowledgeable about what they are signing.
NO Accountability
Use of wrong methods and procedures to complete botch jobs.
Equipment is not monitored over periods when schools are closed.
No PM program.
Use of manpower is not adequate.
HVAC workers pay is subpar
No accountability
HVAC may include ductwork, coils, fans, motors, pumps, chiller replacement, but that’s still a crazy figure
Didn’t see any contracts awarded to Harford County businesses. How about keeping the money within the county
If you give a Harford County based business a bid preference, then that same preference is used against the Harford based contractors when they bid outside of this County. As a contractor, I despise in County preferences. There are some companies out there that open up a business address within a jurisdiction just so they can get a bid preference for a particular upcoming job.
For all of the internal work being done as well as the installation, the schools should go through there union apprenticeship programs to train there employees in most of the trades, they could do a lot of the work in house.
To the comment @the article should state how many doors”. It could be 100 doors and that doesn’t justify 250k! Like money tree said (and I hate admitting that) they could buy the doors at Home Depot and install them with staff already being paid! The hvac is nonsense as well don’t care how much is going into it!
HCPS does not have enough qualified/skilled staff to handle a door replacement project of this size and do it in a reasonable time. Remember the school system has 54 building to operate, maintain, and improve.
Apparently you don’t know the size of the contractor it was awarded to.
They need to work through there labor unions to train there employees, if the work is internal they can lower the operating costs.
Yeah, right. We all know that labor unions reduce costs.
If the unions teach the trade and supply the workforce meaning HCPS internal with skilled workers then hcps can reduce costs by hiring a 90 an hour contractor and pay its internal skilled workers a bit more. overall reducing operations costs. its a Win Win
God forbid we have secure schools with proper doors equipped with alarms security locks.
Why would kids need a classroom that has a proper temperature and clean air free of mold?
How dare this school district spend money on providing a proper learning environment????
If I remember correctly, aren’t they also converting FHS from oil to natural gas?
That should save a ton of money per year, it is somewhere around a $4 gallon of heating oil is equivalent to the energy content of $0.20 of natural gas.
You are think logically which does not fit with the agenda of some others posting here.
Ughhhh,
you are dealing with a bunch of jerks who whine and complain, and most have never attended a Board meeting. They also do a lot of guessing.