Political agglomeration taking shape for over $2 billion worth of deferred maintenance without proper accountability for questionable long term good. Bad governance leads to unwise expenditures and is another type of trap. A good governing body transforms its money into public services.
A new process for evaluating and rating school system facilities is under development to help Prince George’s Public Schools prioritize over $2 billion worth of deferred maintenance.
“It does seem overwhelming, but if you can break it down into manageable pieces, it can be done, if there is a will, and if the public has a will,” said Sarah Woodhead, PGCPS director of capital programs, during the first of three public hearings, held Tuesday at Charles H. Flowers High School in Springdale.
A final public meeting is scheduled March 19 at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville.
Jay Brinson, project executive for Washington, D.C.,-based project management firm Brailsford and Dunlavey, said a final master plan prioritization report is expected to be completed by the end of May, with drafts released to the school system in late April.
Woodhead said the school system typically has a capital improvements budget of $130 million per year.
“If you look at the number, $130 million sounds like a lot, but if you’re trying to take care of $2 billion in deferred maintenance, overcrowding issues, plus modernizing to meet current standards, we do have a shortfall,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead said the $2 billion backlog is due to maintenance needs over the past 40 years that were put off, and have now added up.
“That’s roofs, boilers, windows, mechanical systems, things that should have been replaced every 20 years, or 30 years or 15 years, that didn’t happen, all adds up to over $2 billion,” Whitehead said.
Woodhead said more than 50 percent of the school system’s inventory of schools is over 40 years old.
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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PARENTS, MARYLAND BLOG 