School Construction and Modernization
In 2002, the Maryland General Assembly created a Task Force to Study Public School Facilities to review, evaluate, and make recommendations on issues related to the State's school construction program. The Task Force was to determine whether public school facilities could support programs proposed by the Commission on Education Finance, Equity, and Excellence - the so-called Thornton Commission - and enacted in the Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act of 2002. The task force surveyed statewide facilities needs, focusing on 31 minimum standards deemed essential for complying with current federal and State facility requirements. The survey found that statewide facility needs totaled nearly $4 billion, representing failures to meet basic standards as well as costs to meet student capacity by 2007. Among the deficiencies identified by the task force were large numbers of temporary classrooms; lack of sufficient classrooms to meet reduced class size standards; lack of classroom space to meet kindergarten/ pre-kindergarten program requirements; failure to meet facility requirements for many special populations; and many aging or outdated facilities with inefficient heating and cooling systems, leaking roofs, asbestos problems and/or mold problems.
In its final report of February 24, 2004, the task force recommended that the State spend a minimum of $250 million a year for eight years to build new schools and renovate existing facilities throughout Maryland. This goal was adopted in the School Facilities Act of 2004, which also revised state and local cost share formulas so that the State's share of eligible project costs ranges from a minimum of 50 percent to as much as 97 percent, based on local wealth; codified that certain costs, such as architectural, engineering, and site acquisition costs, are ineligible for state funding; reduced the State rated capacity for grades 1 to 5 from 25 to 23 students; and enhanced opportunities to use alternative financing methods to fund projects.
In 2005, the General Assembly adopted a fiscal 2006 budget that increased spending for school construction and renovation from $116.6 million to $251.8 million. That figure was boosted last year to $322.7 million for fiscal 2007, including $16 million for bond premiums.
In the fiscal 2008 budget submitted to the General Assembly on January 19, Governor Martin O'Malley requested an appropriation of $400 million for school construction and renovation.