Deadline Near for Public Input on School Construction

From the AACPS Communications Office:

County residents can have their say through May 20 on how the county should tackle school construction or renovation projects.

MGT of America, the company charged with conducting the new school facilities study for Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the Anne Arundel County government, will accept public input on projects through Wednesday, May 20.

A series of questions designed to ascertain opinions about schools and instruction can be found in English here and in Spanish here.

MGT previously held public meetings on March 24 and 26. The firm will compile the information from these surveys and use it to guide future discussions at public meetings in May. An overview of the study process can be found here.

MGT will conduct two more community meetings to provide an update on the project, review the work that lies ahead, and discuss the results of the survey. No school assessment scores or any results of the report will be available at these meetings.

The meetings are scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. on:

• Wednesday, May 27, at Broadneck High School
• Thursday, May 28, at North County High School

The $313,667 contract between MGT of America and the County signed earlier this year will develop a new blueprint for renovation and construction over the coming decade. It calls for work to be performed and a report submitted in time to shape decisions for the Fiscal Year 2017 capital budget, which will be presented to the Board of Education in September. The county, using revenue that the County Council set aside for this purpose two years ago, executed the agreement in order to expedite the process.

As part of the process, MGT is:

• reviewing the current and future facility implications of the educational programs delivered by the district, including an examination of class and school size (inclusive of small school models) in relation to peer districts and best practices.
• updating the household yield rates used in the district’s enrollment projections.
• refining the district’s facility capacity ratings and enrollment projections to develop utilization rates by school and determine the need for new schools or additions to existing schools.
• assessing building and site condition, technology readiness, and educational suitability of existing facilities through site visits to each school.
• gathering public and stakeholder input by conducting public meetings, an online survey, and interviews with county and school system leadership.
• identifying budget implications for short-term and long-term recommendations.

A final report will be delivered to the Board of Education in August.

The MGT study was previous discussed at Board of Education meetings on November 5, 2014, and February 18, 2015. Click on the date to see the videos of those discussions.