Construction About to Begin at Point Pleasant Elementary

soon will be divided no more.

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education Wednesday unanimously approved a $3 million contract to M.P. Zink Construction for site work, the first step in the $36 million revitalization project scheduled to begin next month.

The Glen Burnie school presently has nearly two of everything because it's the only county school in two buildings, known as Point Pleasant 1 and Point Pleasant 2. It has two gymnasiums, which double as cafeterias, two front offices and two libraries.

But it has only one staff. So many members either have to walk a football field's distance between the two schools or drive off campus to reach the other building, Barb Holcomb, the school counselor, said after the meeting.

In a way, it's like working at two schools, she said.

"The whole thing creates a lot of stress and strain," she said.

Construction is expected to last two years and will expand the capacity from 584 to 640. The area will decrease from 102,121 square feet to 96,086 because one building will be built, to the delight of parents, students and staff.

Board Vice President Teresa Milio Birge (Dist. 32) acknowledged them during the meeting after members decided to combine the votes on the project with other construction projects.

"I just wanted to say how happy I am to see the Point Pleasant project in there. I know they're very anxious for the work to start there," she said.

Board member Deborah Ritchie, who represents District 31 in which the school is located, commended the school community after the meeting for passionately advocating for the school.

"This has been a long time coming. The parents have done an excellent job," she said.

A former county Parent Teacher Association president, Ritchie said she had been aware of Point Pleasant's issues before joining the board. As the PTA president, she sometimes would visit the school and be confused about which building she was to enter, she said.

She wasn't the only one who was confused. Students in kindergarten through second grade have classes in one building. Students in third through fifth grades have classes in the other building.

So some third graders usually miss their friends or don't understand why they can't visit them, said 9-year-old Carly Brukiewa, a fourth-grader attending her second board meeting on the project and a veteran of several community meetings with her mother, Paula Brukiewa.

Even though Carly won't be a student when the construction is complete, she said she is happy for the younger children.

"I feel excited. The kids are going to get to see their second-grade teachers," she said.

The school's first building was erected in 1958, and the second was built a few years later.

"It's always been a dream. Now that the two schools will be one community, what a thrill that will be," Paula Brukiewa said. "We've been saying, 'We're here. We're here.' And they heard us. The board has been very supportive to get us to where we need to be."

Even as the site work begins, the school community still is waiting for the funding to come through in County Executive John R. Leopold's budget. He has until April 15 to .

If Leopold doesn't fund the project, which happened last year, the board will approach the County Council to try to add the project back into the budget, schools spokesman Bob Mosier said. The council ultimately approves the budget.

After Leopold pushed funding back to 2014 last year, the council approved the $3 million the board will use to pay for the M.P. Zink contract for the site work, Mosier said.

"That's why we're doing it in the middle of the year," he said.

More money is in the pipeline of next year's fiscal budget, he added.