On Wednesday, Board of Ed Greenlights FY2014 Draft Capital Budget

The school capital budget forecasts construction projects to FY2019.

It seems like yesterday that the Board of Education, the County Executive and the County Council were in the throes of debating the Anne Arundel County Public Schools budget.

Lothian Elementary was in; Shady Side Elementary was out; Edgewater Elementary was out. That was earlier this spring. The final decisions came down in May for the start of the school year on July 1, 2012.

Back in the spring, when Shady Side and Edgewater were not included in the forecast for construction, many parents in South County were vocal about their displeasure at the process—and the outcome.

Well, the Board of Education is back at the drawing board for the capital portion of the budget for 2013-2014 school year, known as FY2014. The first roll-out of the budget came at the regularly-scheduled 7 p.m. meeting of the Board of Education Wednesday.

There are different components of the budget. The  capital budget concerns construction and upgrades to capital investments (buildings, vehicle fleet, etc.). This budget is first submitted to the Maryland State Department of Education for approval. In February 2013, the total budget (operating and capital) will be sent to the County Executive, who then forwards it on to the County Council.

On Wednesday evening, the Board of Education unanimously approved a $240 million capital budget for Fiscal Year 2014. The budget contains more than $135 million for renovation projects at 11 schools, including construction for the replacement of Lothian Elementary School.

Parents and other stakeholders will be able to address the Board of Education at two public forums after the new year on January 8 (Old Mill) and Jan 10 (Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ Parham Building on Riva Road). There is a time for public testimony during any regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting. Show up by 6:30 p.m. and sign up at the Anne Arundel County Public Schools Parham Building on Riva Road in Annapolis.

For South County, here are the important pieces of information from the proposed capital budget:

Lothian ES – Replacement

• $32,700,000 (Project Total)
• $16,295,000 (FY2013-construction)
• $12,643,000 (FY2014-construction/move in)
• $3,762,000 (FY2015-move in/punch list)

Edgewater ES – Feasibility Study/Design

• $37,613,000 (Project Total)
• $2,871,000 (FY2016-study)
• $16,208,000 (FY2017-construction)
• $14,301,000(FY2018-construction/move in)
• $4,233,000 (FY2019-move in/punch list)

Shady Side ES – Feasibility Study/Design

• $36,885,000 (Project Total)
• $2,811,000 (FY 2015-study)
• $15,966,000 (FY2016-construction)
• $14,001,000 (FY2017-construction/move in)
• $4,107,000 (FY2018-move in/punch list)

Deale ES – TIMS 

• $1,50,000 (Project Total)
• $58,000 (FY014)