DULANEY HIGH RENOVATION MUST ADDRESS PRESENT AND FUTURE NEEDS!

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DULANEY HIGH RENOVATION MUST ADDRESS PRESENT AND FUTURE NEEDS!

Built in 1964, Dulaney High School is in poor condition and is in dire need of a comprehensive renovation. Overcrowded and plagued with inadequate facilities, burst pipes, and brown water, current and future students at Dulaney High deserve a facility of the highest standard. I am working hard to ensure that the planned renovation will be comprehensive and appropriate to the scale of the problem.  

Mindful of the concerns of my constituents, I have shared their very serious reservations about the preliminary renovation plan to the County Executive. In response, County Executive Kevin Kamenetz asked me to visit the newly renovated Pikesville High School telling me that Pikesville is an example of what he envisions Dulaney will look like once DHS is successfully updated.

While Pikesville was well done, there is no way Dulaney can be successfully remodeled at current funding levels and its current plan. The fact remains that DHS is twice as large as Pikesville, and was allocated the same amount of money as Pikesville. Furthermore, one of the biggest differences between the renovation of Pikesville and the planned renovation of Dulaney is that the current plan for Dulaney is to remodel by installing central air conditioning and addressing the deficiencies in the building on a room-by-room basis. By contrast, Pikesville has been comprehensively remodeled to meet the needs of the present population of students and the needs of future classes at the school.

On April 10, 2016, I attended a ribbon cutting ceremony of the newly renovated Hereford High School where on the same day, we celebrated Hereford’s designation as a Blue Ribbon school. When Hereford was in the planning stages of its renovation, planners were careful to take into account the programs the school offered, and would offer in the future, in determining the proper space needed. This kind of analysis is essential for the future of Dulaney as well.

The County Executive is aware of the deficiencies of the current Dulaney plan and funding allocation, and has now ordered the County to recraft the existing plan to meet the needs of Dulaney High School now and into the future.

The question remains, however, WILL THE PRICE OF A PROPER REMODEL OF DULANEY BE SO HIGH THAT A NEW BUILDING MAY BE MOST COST EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE?

I will continue to work on this issue to ensure that Dulaney High School gets the proper facility it needs for current and future classes of students.

~Wade

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