County Executive James T. Smith Jr.
400 Washington Avenue
Old Courthouse Mezzanine
Towson, Maryland 21204
410-887-2450
E-mail Address: jimsmith@baltimorecountymd.gov
Dear Friends of Baltimore County,
September is here, and once again we find ourselves at the beginning of another school year in Baltimore County. The new school year is a time of excitement, for students, teachers, and parents alike, as each class of children embarks on the next leg of the all important educational journey towards adulthood.
In Baltimore County, families come first and the future of our families depends upon the quality of our public education. We are fortunate to have a public education system that is among the best in the nation. Its teachers and administrators are nationally recognized for the outstanding job that do in preparing Baltimore County’s students of today to become Baltimore County’s leaders of tomorrow.
Teachers and students prepare for the future of Baltimore County everyday in our classrooms, and it is our responsibility to ensure that this important work is supported in classrooms that are both safe and conducive to meeting modern standards for teaching and learning. For the past four years, school renovation and construction funding have been the highest priorities of our legislative agenda in Annapolis. Thanks to the tireless efforts of its State Delegation, Baltimore County was able to secure $52 million in school construction and renovation funds from the State in 2007, the most we have ever received.
Combined with $171 million in the Baltimore County budget, more than $223 million is committed to school renovation and construction in Fiscal Year 2008, an increase of $65.5 million dollars over the previous year. As a result, we will complete middle school renovations at Old Court, Cockeysville, Pikesville, Deer Park, Pine Grove, and Perry Hall middle schools and move forward with systemic high school renovations. These funds will also fund a study and design an addition at Loch Raven High School to address the need for additional high school seats in the central and northeast areas of our county. We are also funding additions at Cedarmere, Hillcrest, Dogwood elementary schools, and at Catonsville Middle School. These construction projects will support students of Baltimore County with the space and facilities they need to succeed and learn at the highest levels.
As technology transforms our world, math and science become more important to the success of the students of today. Our children will not compete for jobs with people in Delaware and New Jersey, but with people in India, China, and around the world. Baltimore County must graduate young people who will contribute to a talented and competitive workforce locally and around the globe. Programs such as the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Academy, which the Maryland State Department of Education chose to locate at Chesapeake High School, will prepare Baltimore County students to compete for high technology careers by providing them with state-of-the-art preparation in science and math.
Baltimore County is home to some truly outstanding schools that meet the highest standards of education in the nation. Last year, eight of our high schools—that’s 30 percent of Baltimore County’s high schools—were recognized by Newsweek Magazine as being among the finest in the nation. In addition, Red House Run Elementary School and Hereford Middle School were named Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools, raising the total number of Blue Ribbon schools in Baltimore County to fourteen.
The success of Baltimore County’s schools does not belong to any one person or even to any one group. Like so much else that succeeds in this County, the excellence of our schools is a result of the combined efforts of a diverse array of people, including Superintendent Dr. Joe Hairston, the school board, principals, teachers, staff, parents, community leaders, local and state government officials—all working together as partners with one, important shared goal—to give our children every opportunity they need to thrive and learn.
As another school year begins, I am confident that our continued commitment to collaboration will provide the children of Baltimore County with the brightest future imaginable.
James T. Smith, Jr.
Baltimore County Executive
Revised September 10, 2007
Courthouse 