Comptroller to put in good word for school funding

Frederick County Commissioner Kai Hagen, left, Frederick County Public Schools’ executive director of facilities services Ray Barnes, center, and Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot tour the new Linganore High School.

The new Linganore High School is shaping up and beginning to look like a school inside and out.
State Comptroller Peter Franchot, who has made it a habit to get insider looks at how school construction money is spent across the state, toured the building Friday with Frederick County Public Schools officials and others connected with the project.

"I'm interested in environmental features," Franchot told the group. "And anything that will help talk with the governor and treasurer about this project."

The total cost of the new school is $78.67 million. The building construction cost is $66.2 million, and the state's share is $37.6 million.

Over the last two years, Maryland has funded about $3.5 million toward that obligation, and has so far committed an additional $3.95 million for the fiscal 2011 budget, said Ray Barnes, school system executive director of facilities services.

"There's a total of about $250 million (for construction projects) available across the state," Barnes said. "About $187 million of that has already been earmarked for projects."

The remaining $63 million will be awarded by the Board of Public Works -- which consists of the governor, state treasurer and comptroller -- in late April or early May.

Barnes said the local school system hopes to get an additional piece of that money.

The Linganore project is the school system's top priority for state funding, he said. Frederick County government fronts the money and finances it through bonds and other means. Repaying the county in a timely fashion will reduce the costs of borrowing, Barnes said.

The environmental value of the project began with the deconstruction of the old building, Barnes told Franchot. Many materials, including concrete, steel, aluminum and copper, were recycled instead of being dispatched to a landfill.

"That helped us save on this building," Barnes said. "The contractor was able to take those costs into consideration."

The new building will be cooled by a magnetic bearing frictionless cooler. In this new technology, the moving parts don't touch each other so therefore no friction is produced, Barnes said. Friction is what eventually cause parts to wear out and need to be replaced. The new style of chiller is expected to have a longer life span, be more efficient and operate much more quietly than a traditional chiller, he said.

The design of the building allows a significant amount of daytime light into classrooms, which will lessen dependence on artificial lighting. Conversely, sun-shading devices will prevent sunshine from heating the building in warmer months, lessening the need for air conditioning.

Each room will be equipped with motion sensors and photocell lighting controls. Lights will automatically turn on when someone enters and off upon people exiting.

The new building also occupies a smaller footprint than the old Linganore, which Barnes described as a "rambling, oddball collection of different buildings" that were constructed and renovated at different times.

Franchot said touring schools helps him get the complete story of what's going on in communities, and helps him relay the message to his Board of Public Works colleagues.

There's a lot of competition for the little bit of construction money still up for grabs, but he said he would put in a good word for Linganore.

"The county has done a good job keeping this project on schedule," he said. "I'm certainly going to tell the governor and treasurer that Linganore should be a top priority."