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Frederick County Begins School Construction Projects

FREDERICK, Md. — Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) is undergoing some major changes with the groundbreaking of the new $120 million Frederick High in early September. The FCPS Board of Education is also in the process of deciding whether or not to build two elementary schools, despite only having the budget for one.

Frederick High is the oldest high school in the county. It opened in 1939 and underwent a major renovation in 1977 but has remained untouched ever since. Proponents of the new project said the school was deteriorating inside and out, and a recent flood took out several of the school’s computers. A feasibility study determined that a new build project was the answer.

The new school will be approximately 270,618 square feet with a 12,175-square-foot gymnasium and 853-seat auditorium. While the project is scheduled to be ready for students by August 2017, the entire project will not be completed until summer 2018 when the old building will be demolished, reported the Frederick News Post.

An initial estimate put the project cost at $89 million, but that price rose to about $120 million because of increased wages for construction workers on school construction projects and new requirements for stormwater management, according to Frederick News Post. These cost increases also affect the price tag for other school construction projects for the district.

The two elementary schools, Butterfly Ridge in Western Frederick and Sugarloaf in Urbana would help ease overcrowding in the two communities, but each would cost about $30 million to complete, reported Your4State.com, a local news outlet. FCPS is trying to juggle the decision while also constructing the new Frederick High School.

The school board voted unanimously to adopt the superintendent’s proposed capital plan, which includes funding the two elementary schools. The Board of Education will then submit the plans to state and county officials to request for funding. If they don’t get funding, however, the school board will be forced to make some tough decisions on how to spend its school construction budget.