June 11, 2002 - Baltimore City Public Schools

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Board Meeting Minutes students and 3,000 teachers that are going to be in our schools for five weeks this summer without air conditioning, and go in Baltimore summer weather. And we can't run a year-around School System, which is what we're doing, without air conditioners. So I'm looking forward to the report. We said, when we had our Master Plan review, that one of our important indicators of progress is that our Facilities Plan, as it relates to full implementation of all our facility needs, to meet the educational program of our middle school reform, high school reform, all the things we put -- all our class size, is five years. Five years is FY 2003; not 2008, 2009, 2010 or whatever. And that's what we have said we want as one of the important performance measures for our Master Plan. And I'm not going to vote for any capital improvement plan that doesn't provide for that happening. And we're just starting in our Master Plan. We're already saying we're not going to make it. Source is funds. Obviously, that sort of comes from, again, if the projects were ready to go, my bet is you've got a number of creditors to get the funds for a great project. People are excited. We've done our community planning right. People are enthusiastic instead of beating us over the head about it. We've got two years -- the last two years, we got $46 million, $46 million. We should be thinking of going up. And I understand the State's budget situation with the State School Construction Facility Task Force looking at equity in the school construction, just like they did with the Thornton Commission on operations funds. What I wish would be -- assuming a decline in State funding is something that, you know, again, no vote right there. City going back down to 12 million from 16 million. It took a lot of work to get them up to 16 million. If this City wants to grow, it's going to have to borrow money. You've got to spend money to make money, and the City needs to do that. I vote no for any reduction of City funding. Our own borrowing, we -- the plan that we approved was $50 million for FY 2003 and '4, and not spending out to 2005. The legislature leaders themselves said that they were comfortable with us going to 100 million. That's another 25 million. I would vote to see that $25 million in this five-year CIP. Capital Campaign, you did say that it was on the conservative side. School of the Arts itself, that they are willing to commit to raise $7 and a half million of private money for their $15 million project. I'd like to see that $7 and a half million in private money in this funding plan, and the $7 and a half million they're going to need to match that, from our money and State money. They will expect great -- a great -- I hope you take this with the understanding that this is a deep appreciation of the fine work that all of you have done, and the Facilities Committee has done, and really challenging us to think much more broadly about the importance of our facilities. We need to have that reflected in this plan. We need to have it reflected in our staffing plan, not for three years from now, but for this year, so that we have the horsepower to do what we need to do, and do it now, or else I'm going to get used to start saying no when these come up for vote. MR. SMOLARZ: I appreciate those comments. We've added, as you've stated, two architects, two engineers to Mr. Hamilton's group. We need to add some more folks. We are being much more aggressive on the planning side, which we've not done. We have Lexington Terrace going full tilt. We've got Dunbar right behind it. We are planning Mt. Washington as we speak. We're going to start working on Booker T. and some of the other schools that have been identified. Clearly, we have stepped up our efforts there. And, in fact, now, the three of us and our staff go over all the projects that are listed here every week. And we've started that process. We've reviewed it with Commissioner Daniel. We will bring that to the Facilities Committee. In fact, we started last time. We will do that much more aggressively. And we will bring that forward to this Board, as well as the Facilities, to look at it, just so that we can show you year-to-date that we're meeting. And so, therefore, we'll get some measure and get it attended to, and you can hold us accountable to those things. MS. WELCH: Commissioner Murphy, and then Commissioner Stringfield. Page 26 of 41 MS. MURPHY: I just want to follow Commissioner Streuver. I feel that this, especially some of the comments that we heard this afternoon about planning and the kinds of plans that have to go forward to the State, that have be exemplary. It just can't be something sort of thrown together. Of course, I'm a little disturbed that you're saying Booker T.'s planning grant is not coming until '05. We are -- Booker T. file://S:\CMS_Content\meetings\2002\J11_02.html 9/23/2002
Board Meeting Minutes is the only middle school that is listed at the moment, and it's dealing with both its curriculum and the renovation, and I feel as though it really needs to be '04. Is it '04? MR. STREUVER: It is '04. MS. MURPHY: It's not. It's '03. It's '04. MR. SMOLARZ: You want it in '04? MS. MURPHY: I want it in '03. MR. SMOLARZ: We need to start planning today to meet the schedule for '04. So your point's well taken. MS. MURPHY: Right. MR. SMOLARZ: We need to start now. MS. MURPHY: It needs -- we need to get on a fast track as far as Booker T. is concerned. The community is ready. The Committee is ready. I think the school is ready. And I'm just concerned about that. I'm also concerned about Douglas. The year that Douglas is supposed to be looked at is not until '07. Are my eyes right? MR. JONES: It's '07, that's right. And even that's in the planning. MS. MURPHY: Yeah. And that's just planning. And Douglas, we really have to push that forward as soon as possible. Those are just some. MS. WELCH: Commissioner Stringfield? MR. STRINGFIELD: I want to echo what our last two Commissioners have said. And I -- I mean, here's a way to summarize it, is, I mean, that's an irresponsibility to if want $10,000, you wanted to go to $20,000. And I think what we're trying to figure out is how to get to $70,000. I mean, ever since I've been on this Board, Colene and Bill have been talking about building capacity, do these things. What's it going to take to build enough capacity where we can put this thing on substantially different footing? I mean, what's the holdup to doing it? I mean, the Board has never said anything other than go forward and faster. Am I mistaken? MR. SMOLARZ: I think money is a lot of it, unfortunately. I think part of it is we didn't have the capacity, as Bill mentioned. And I subscribe to a lot of what Bill said, that if you, you know, if you build it, they will come. If you hire folks and get the planning rolling, then the money should follow. And I might not be as optimistic, but I think that if you don't look at it that aggressively, then you won't get anything. So you really need to push it. MR. STRINGFIELD: Right. And I just think every one of us are in favor here in continuing to, if anything, accelerate the rate of the spending capacity within the System so that this whole thing in the District of the student body left up there, and several other projects come in behind it. MS. WELCH: Dr. Tildon? file://S:\CMS_Content\meetings\2002\J11_02.html Page 27 of 41 9/23/2002
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June 11, 2002 - Baltimore City Public Schools

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