Edgewater Elementary Parents Plan Protest Outside School
Parents want the school to be renovated sooner than the county executive's proposed budget suggests.
Edgewater Elementary parents plan to protest County Executive John R. Leopold’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 on Friday morning outside their school on Mayo Road.
The school’s PTA president, Jenny Corkill, told Patch the parents are specifically protesting the fact that the school is not scheduled for renovations in the near future in Leopold’s budget. The protest will take place around 8:20 a.m. Friday, Corkill said.
Edgewater Elementary parents were hoping their school would be bumped up for renovations sooner than the previously scheduled 2016. But after Leopold released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2013, the school is no longer on the short list for renovations, meaning they won’t come at least until 2019.
“Our school has the worst condition of all schools in the county based on Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ study, and we are at over 120 percent capacity,” Corkill told Patch. “Musty, moldy conditions still exist in our building and yet we are not included in [Leopold’s budget] and amazingly not in the budget at all for the next six years.”
In February, the school system hired an industrial hygienist to analyze Edgewater Elementary and investigate claims that poor air quality was physically harming students. The specialist, Ed Light of Building Dynamics, told parents he found mold growth and dampness throughout the building, but not enough to cause severe alarm.
Light said the school’s condition was not unusual for a school as old as Edgewater Elementary, built in 1953.
The Anne Arundel County Council is currently reviewing the budget before the start fiscal year 2013 on July 1.
"The County Council must include Edgewater in the 2013 budget. Our children can't afford to wait," Corkill said.
Maryellen Brady
6:35 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Jerry Walker is totally incompetent and unable to understand the urgency of NOW when it comes to Edgewater Elementary School. This man does not represent the 7th district, he represents his rich buds and business pals all the while ignoring the needs of the vast number of taxpayers in the 7th District. If Edgewater Elementary imps are put off once again, Jerry Walker's effectiveness as a representative is nil.
kerri
8:39 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
Oh, come on! It was renovated around 1981! The year after I went to CMS.
Amy Leahy
9:09 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
The BOE and the county executive have first blush at both the operating and capital budgets ….Jerry Walker is kind of stuck with what he gets. To blame Jerry Walker for the cards he is dealt is not fair Maryellen Brady.
Jenny corkill
10:09 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
@Kerri Edgewater Elementary school is the oldest school in the county without a major renovation! An addition of a gym and some asbestos remediation does not equal a major renovation. If you have doubts take a look at the HVAC system.
kerri
10:38 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
Jenny- do you understand sarcasm?
john jacob jingleheimerschmitt
10:56 am on Sunday, May 13, 2012
No wonder Central kids were always the brightest;-) No mold!