Major renovations over the next few years are planned for some of the oldest school buildings in the Baltimore City Public Schools district. Lack of sufficient air conditioning and heat have plagued the public school system for decades, prompting early dismissals for students who lose out on valuable learning time. City and school leaders say it’s the next phase of the district’s 21st Century Schools building plan.
Since 2013, the district has already constructed 28 new schools after closing down old schools that were too far gone to repair.
Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises said the district had targeted previous closures in underserved neighborhoods.
“They were losing population and we had to close school buildings that were antiquated and in a word inadequate to serve the needs of our young people and their families,” Santelises said during a Thursday morning press conference.
The district plans to renovate three buildings that house five schools in total. Baltimore City College, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute which currently shares a campus with Western High School and Frederick Douglass High School, and Joseph C. Briscoe Academy which will share a building after construction.
Baltimore City College has been releasing students before noon due to lack of air conditioning. Frederick Douglass High School closed due to lack of proper heat during the winter in 2018. One year, organizers raised private funds to purchase winter apparel and heaters for Baltimore City School students.
Santelises said the project costs $400 million and is funded through Maryland’s Build To Learn Act, Baltimore City and the school district.
“Structural improvements to these large older buildings are significantly more expensive than renovations in buildings serving the lower grades, and we would not be able to get this critically important job done without these additional funds being provided,” she said.
The school district has a $5 billion maintenance backlog, according to its website.
Nearly 7,000 students will be affected by the renovations and moved into temporary buildings, also known as swing spaces, during construction. The district already held meetings for parents and guardians to ask questions and express concerns they have about the transition.
The design process for some schools have already begun and students will move to swing spaces starting in 2024.
During construction, Baltimore City College will be housed in the building previously known as Thurgood Marshall High School for three years. Frederick Douglass High School will move to the Garrison Middle School building for two years.
The design process for the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Western High school building will start next year, and in 2025 the schools will temporarily move into the Northwestern and Chinquapin buildings, respectively.
Western High School was founded in 1844 and is the oldest all-girls public school in the country. Frederick Douglas High School was founded in 1883 for Black students and is one of the oldest high schools nationwide.
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott lauded the move, the school renovation plan is “an example of the vision we have for Baltimore’s future.”
