Havre de Grace High School Project Stalls

A state Department of Education agency said it wouldn’t consider a request to fund plans for Havre de Grace High School until the Harford County school board actually approves building a new school, according to Harford County Schools Superintendent Robert Tomback.

On Tuesday, Tomback testified before the Interagency on School Construction (IAC) committee at the Maryland Department of Education headquarters in Baltimore during a process in which jurisdictions across the state seek school construction funding for the next fiscal year.

Harford County submitted a list of more than 30 capital projects to the state for FY 2014 and Havre de Grace High School was fourth on the list.

However, no matter how high on the list a project is, the school board must approve a project before it can be eligible for state money.

Members of the Harford County's Board of Education did not vote on plans for Havre de Grace High School despite two meetings where it was on the agenda, because they had environmental and safety concerns about the proposed site for a new school and they wanted to look into other options, such as combining a high school and a middle school. 

Dr. David Lever, executive director of the Maryland Public School Construction Program, told Patch that as a member of the IAC, he had questions too, about enrollment, scope, cost and construction.

For now, Tomback said, the project for Havre de Grace High School is "on hold."

The IAC will reveal what projects it recommends for state funding by Dec. 31. The school system can appeal before the Maryland Board of Public Works in late January to obtain funding for projects that were not recommended by the IAC.

County Could Fund Planning

On Tuesday while Tomback was in Baltimore testifying before the IAC, Harford County Executive David Craig was outlining his two-year priorities at a press conference in Bel Air, and his plan called for replacing Havre de Grace High School.

Given that a new school is estimated to cost more than $60 million, including $3.7 million for planning, is it feasible without state support?

Craig's spokesman said that the Havre de Grace project "is not dead," in response to an inquiry from Patch.

"The Havre de Grace High School project is not dead, but merely delayed until the Board of Education is satisfied with the Scope Study," said Craig's spokesman, Robert Thomas, in an email.

In the meantime, the school board has no firm date as to when it will revisit the Havre de Grace High School project, and the superintendent is tasked with finding other sites.

Thomas added: "Any decisions to fund school construction projects must also have the approval of the County Council."