Facility Services Wraps Up Summer Of School Projects Throughout Wicomico

Facility Services staff of Wicomico County Public Schools have been working hard this summer on a long list of projects to improve school facilities prior to the start of the 2012-13 school year in late August.

“Summer means time off for our students, but it’s a critically important time “on” for Facility Services, which maintains over 2 million square feet of building space throughout Wicomico County,” said Brian Foret, Director of Facility Services. “Those few weeks over the summer are vital to us. We need the time to catch up on our operational housekeeping duties and roll out projects we just can’t get to during the school year. It gives us a window to do things like roofing and parking lot projects, move classrooms, painting, upgrade security features, resurface floors, replace equipment and make other major repairs and/or replacements required to maintain or will improve the facilities in which our students and staff work.”

Facility Services projects are being done at every school in Wicomico County this summer. Among the biggest and most visible projects:

• Fruitland Intermediate roof replacement and improvements to vehicular access
• Charles H. Chipman Elementary roof replacement
• Secure access entryways for Glen Avenue Elementary, Bennett Middle, Parkside High
• Modular classroom building relocated to Pittsville Elementary and Middle in preparation for a major HVAC project
• Auditorium sound and lighting upgrades for Parkside High and Wicomico High

For a complete listing of all summer 2012 facility projects, please check out Summer 2012 Project Listing

This summer, Facility Services is also preparing for the replacement Bennett Middle School project, which could break ground in January. Earlier this year, the Maryland Board of Public Works allocated $10 million in state funding for FY 2013 for the project. (Maryland will pay 96% of eligible construction costs for the Bennett Middle project, the highest rate in the state.) Then, following a public hearing on July 12, the Wicomico County Council approved a $12.55 million bond bill for the project. The council anticipates voting on a bond resolution in early October to outline the terms of the bond sale, with the bond sale taking place in October.

“This is the right thing to do. Never in the history of our county, or in any county in Maryland, have we seen the kind of state support for a project as we see now for Bennett Middle,” said Ron Willey, Board of Education President. Willey and Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen highlighted the project’s importance for improving the school facility, enhancing the instructional design and technology, saving on long-term energy costs while providing a more comfortable learning environment, and creating local jobs during construction of the replacement school in Fruitland.