County Executive James T. Smith Jr.
400 Washington Avenue
Old Courthouse Mezzanine
Towson, Maryland 21204
410-887-2450
E-mail Address: jimsmith@co.ba.md.us
Dear Friends of Baltimore County,
Earlier this year, Baltimore County again took the lead in securing resources to support public education, both here in Baltimore County and across the state, when we requested that the State make a funding commitment of $400 million dollars to its Public School Construction Program. As the former Mayor of Baltimore, newly elected Governor Martin O’Malley understands just how important school construction funding is to Maryland’s local jurisdictions. As governor, Martin O’Malley has expanded his longstanding commitment to education to the entire state of Maryland and has announced that his budget will include $400 million dollars for school construction throughout the state, including Baltimore County.
That is welcome news for Baltimore County which is home to the second oldest school stock of the larger school systems in the state of Maryland. Many of our schools are over thirty years old, and some date back to the 1940’s. To ensure that these schools can continue to serve students, Baltimore County is committed to a carefully crafted, systemic renovation plan. This plan has been held up as a model to other school systems throughout the state and it is designed to ensure that every Baltimore County student attends a school that is able to meet the standards of today’s educational programs, no matter what year they were built.
We have already completed the renovation of our elementary and special schools, and we are in the midst of renovating our middle schools. We have made progress, but this additional state funding is essential for us to begin or complete renovations at nine middle schools throughout Baltimore County so that we can move on to the next phase of our renovation plan and begin work on our aging high schools that are next in line. It is very important to sustain our renovation efforts. Each year, these schools are getting older, raising the risk that critical systems will fail, forcing schools to be closed for costly, emergency repairs. And every year that we delay and the schools grow older and materials grow more expensive, the cost of these crucial renovations goes up.
In addition to our renovation efforts, we are ready to use Baltimore County’s share of this funding to begin construction of Vincent Farms Elementary School as well as begin urgently needed roof replacements at three additional schools. The additional state support will help us begin these and many other vitally important construction projects--projects that will allow Baltimore County’s public schools to continue to serve students of tomorrow with the same standards of excellence they have achieved for generations of students both past and present.
I consider the education of our young people to be one of the most important functions of government. In Baltimore County, we have good teachers and good schools, but I believe that we can make them better. For teachers to teach and students to learn, they need facilities able to handle the needs of today’s classrooms—facilities that will support curriculum that prepares our young people for the world of tomorrow. Baltimore County needs continued State help to renovate its extremely old facilities. The State’s commitment of $400 million dollars to school construction throughout the State is an important step in ensuring that schools in both Baltimore County, and throughout the State, are able to continue to serve the needs of today’s students and teachers.
As we enter the month of February, in which we celebrate the contributions of African Americans throughout our nation’s history, it is significant that we demonstrate our commitment to providing all of Baltimore County’s children with the best public schools we can. Throughout the history of both our Nation and our County, education has proved to be the great equalizer, allowing millions of Americans to overcome prejudice and intolerance, and investment in education is an investment in a brighter future for all of us.
James T. Smith, Jr.
Baltimore County Executive
Revised February 2, 2007
Courthouse 