Politics & Government
State Panel Rejects Call to Fund School Air Conditioning
The comptroller had asked that half of a $7 million request for Baltimore County be withheld until there was a plan to install temporary window units in some schools.
The state Board of Public Works voted Wednesday to approve in Baltimore County.
Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Treasurer Nancy Kopp voted down a motion by Comptroller Peter Franchot that would have withheld $3.5 million until there was a plan to install air conditioning in come county schools.
Schools slated for the money include:
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- Woodlawn and Franklin High Schools
- Cedarmere, Glyndon and Randallstown elementary schools
- Pikesville Middle School
- Chatsworth School
About $3.3 million is slated to go toward replacing windows at Woodlawn High School. The county notes in its request that 56 percent of the school's population is eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.
The decision disappointed the parents and students of one Essex elementary school who came to Annapolis to ask the board for air conditioning.
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"We didn't get anywhere," said Cathy Fialkowski, a parent who has twin boys in second grade at Middleborough Elementary School.
Fialkowksi and her sons came to Annapolis with other parents and children from the school to encourage the board to switch some of the money to installing air conditioning in county schools.
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