The St. Mary’s County Board of Education has unanimously voted to support accelerating the renovation of Spring Ridge Middle in the wake of the recent fire at the school. The board will ask the county commissioners to [provide $250,000 immediately so they can begin for planning and design.
The plan also includes an ambitious schedule to renovate the five classrooms that had too much damage to use for the remainder of the school year. The plan calls for using insurance money to rehabilitate the rooms so they will be ready when the schools reopen in August after the summer break.
School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano said a passing motorist alerted emergency responders of the fire. The superintendent was told that if the volunteer firefighters had gotten there ten minutes later the school would have been totally destroyed. As it is, the school reopened on the Monday after the Thursday evening fire, with the displace4d students in relocatable classrooms and space in the exercise room.
The fire has been blamed on faulty wiring in the aging HVAC system. The renovation will replace that system, remove the open spaces in the school and as School Board member Mary Washington described it, “build a school for the future.”
Estimated price tag for the renovation is $18 million. Washington said if anyone walks through the recently renovated Leonardtown Middle School they will get an idea of what the renovated Spring Ridge will look like. Spring Ridge is the county’s last middle school to get a makeover.
The school board was presented with two options for a renovation timetable, with the most aggressive proposal having the work completed by December 2015. The longer timetable has completion in August 2016. The decision will be left to the county commissioners as to how quickly they can advance the money for construction.
Commissioner President Francis “Jack” Russell (D) on several recent occasions has promised commissioner support for advancing the Spring Ridge project, which had been in the capital budget for a Fiscal Year 2018 construction start. With growth slowing somewhat, the school board may readjust some priorities to delay a third and fourth new elementary school while advancing the Spring Ridge renovation.
Russell and Del. John Bohanan (D: 29B) were at the school board meeting Wednesday at which the decision was made. At one point they were invited by School Board President Dr. Sal Raspa to join the board at their table.
Russell said, “This is a no brainer. We will get it done as fast as we can.” He added, “It is another example of St. Mary’s County working together as a community.&r
