Portable Classrooms

pepperb@herald-mail.com The Washington County Board of Education on Tuesday agreed to spend $2.9 million to add portable classrooms over five years to the county's elementary schools as part of a federal mandate for all-day kindergarten. As part of an Elementary School Space Needs Study and the Schools Comprehensive Maintenance Plan, Dennis McGee, director of facilities, suggested during a School Board work session that the addition of portable classrooms was the best option for accommodating the projected 750 students that will be in all-day kindergarten next year.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Forced to find more space for new students, Jefferson County Schools officials had to purchase eight portable classrooms for the upcoming school year. Two of the portable classrooms will go to Jefferson High School, four will go to Charles Town Middle School, one will go to Blue Ridge Elementary School and one will be used at Shepherdstown Middle School, said Russell Fitzgerald, construction project manager for the Jefferson County Board of Education.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - The Washington County Board of Education plans to add 17 portable classrooms to several of its schools next school year, citing increasing enrollments. Seven of the portable classrooms will be placed at South Hagerstown High School. The Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday authorized by a 3-1 vote that the school board spend $1.78 million for the portables. Commissioners Vice President William J. Wivell cast the dissenting vote, saying he wanted more information on the topic.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - Washington County Public Schools will spend about $1 million to move portable classrooms this summer. About 18 portable classrooms will be moved to different schools, and one portable classroom will be demolished, leaving about 80 such classrooms at local public schools, said Rob Rollins, director of facilities planning and development. About $1.5 million was budgeted for moving the portables, but it will cost only about $1 million, Rollins said. Many of the portables being moved to other schools are coming from schools being demolished this summer and replaced with new schools.

No one has to convince Clear Spring Elementary School Principal Jill Burkhart that the best way to deal with overcrowding is to enlarge the school building instead of adding a portable classroom. "While they give you relief, they bring with them their own special problems," Burkhart said. --cont from front page -- There are 22 relocatable classrooms at Washington County schools, including three at Clear Spring. One of the Clear Spring portables is used for art classes.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Waynesboro Area School Board this week will consider installing modular classrooms at Hooverville Elementary School, boosting the capacity at a school with half the population of the district's other three elementary buildings. Several modular classrooms with air conditioning and bathrooms were offered to Waynesboro by another school district, board president Larry Glenn said. Waynesboro only would be responsible for moving costs, he said. The school board in the past five years has evaluated growth patterns while allocating funds for expansion and renovations, Glenn said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Washington County Public Schools will spend about $1 million to move portable classrooms this summer. About 18 portable classrooms will be moved to different schools, and one portable classroom will be demolished, leaving about 80 portable classrooms at local public schools, said Rob Rollins, director of facilities planning and development. About $1.5 million was budgeted for moving the portables, but it only will cost about $1 million, Rollins said. Many of the portables being moved to other schools are coming from schools being demolished this summer and replaced with new schools.

WCPS to pay $124,400 to relocate portable classrooms Washington County Public Schools will pay a contractor $124,400 to relocate three portable classroom buildings. Deputy Superintendent Boyd Michael said Tuesday that the portable classrooms will be taken from Funkstown Elementary School, with one each going to Clear Spring Elementary School, North Hagerstown High School and Williamsport High School. The portable classrooms that will be relocated to North Hagerstown and Williamsport high schools will be used to serve special-needs children, Michael said.

HAGERSTOWN -- The Antietam Academy high school building that was damaged in a March fire will be demolished, according to Boyd Michael, deputy superintendent of Washington County Public Schools. The 100 students there will be moved into portable classrooms at the beginning of the next school year. Those students have been attending classes at Grace Brethren Church in Hagerstown since their building, near South Hagerstown High School, was damaged. Antietam Academy is a school for students who have had trouble in a regular school setting.

A dark, softball-size spot that was discovered above a door to a modular classroom at Martinsburg High School in the first week of classes tested positive for mold, Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Manny P. Arvon said Thursday. Students were removed from the portable classroom space after the spot was reported on Aug. 24 and have not returned since, Arvon said. He said the mold testing was done by Winchester Environmental Consultants Inc., which was hired by the school district to investigate.

Contracts to renovate a portable classroom at Sharpsburg Elementary, for paper products for school cafeterias, and to provide technical support for the computers that handle the school system’s payroll were approved May 17 by the Washington County Board of Education. Service All of Mitchellville, Md., was awarded the contract to renovate a state-owned portable classroom this summer at Sharpsburg Elementary School. The company had the lowest base bid of $42,715. The other bidders were Callas Contractors of Hagerstown ($74,400)

Performers ranging from young children to adults will take the microphone to read poetry, play instruments, sing and dance Thursday, Sept. 24, at 5 p.m. at Antietam Academy High School's third open mic night. The school is in portable classrooms at 1151 S. Potomac St. on the South Hagerstown High School campus. Niki Perini, South High dance teacher and artistic director of Authentic Community Theater, will perform as will a trio of students singing a classic song from the group Destiny's Child.

WCPS to pay $124,400 to relocate portable classrooms Washington County Public Schools will pay a contractor $124,400 to relocate three portable classroom buildings. Deputy Superintendent Boyd Michael said Tuesday that the portable classrooms will be taken from Funkstown Elementary School, with one each going to Clear Spring Elementary School, North Hagerstown High School and Williamsport High School. The portable classrooms that will be relocated to North Hagerstown and Williamsport high schools will be used to serve special-needs children, Michael said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- One of the strings attached to $25 million that the state awarded to Berkeley County Schools in April for a new high school requires county residents to commit to paying a portion of the estimated $53.5 million project by Nov. 1, Superintendent Manny P. Arvon II said Monday. Berkeley County taxpayers in a special election on Sept. 26 will be asked to shoulder a little more than half of an estimated $96.5 million in construction and renovation costs for four schools through a bond issue.

CHARLES TOWN. W.Va. -- A tract of fertile land where, not so long ago, a farmer grew crops, will become a place where teachers grow the fertile minds of young students. Ground officially was broken Saturday morning on 15 acres off Job Corps Road north of Charles Town for Jefferson County's newest school building, a facility for students in kindergarten through fifth grade that will hold 500 students, and, just as important, mark the beginning of the end of the district's dependency on portable classrooms for its elementary-school students.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Construction projects are planned at several Washington County schools and the school system's department of maintenance and operations, which is housed at the former Southern Toy Store at 701 Frederick St. in Hagerstown. The Washington County Board of Education approved all of the projects Tuesday by a 4-0 vote, with board members Paul W. Bailey, W. Edward Forrest and William H. Staley absent. The board accepted a $160,751 bid to replace lockers in Boonsboro High School's hallways and athletic locker rooms.

HAGERSTOWN -- The Antietam Academy high school building that was damaged in a March fire will be demolished, according to Boyd Michael, deputy superintendent of Washington County Public Schools. The 100 students there will be moved into portable classrooms at the beginning of the next school year. Those students have been attending classes at Grace Brethren Church in Hagerstown since their building, near South Hagerstown High School, was damaged. Antietam Academy is a school for students who have had trouble in a regular school setting.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. -- School districts in Berkeley and Jefferson counties each have received $1 million to build additions at two schools. The money represents nearly 20 percent of the $10.4 million in Major Improvement (MIP) grants announced this week by the West Virginia School Building Authority. Eagle School Intermediate just outside of Martinsburg and South Jefferson Elementary School near Summit Point, W.Va., will receive the building upgrades, officials said. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2010, the same year school officials have targeted as the completion date for a new school in each county that received SBA funding in April 2008.

This is the first of a three-part series of stories on Washington County Public Schools' new elementary schools. Today, and on two subsequent Mondays, we will offer a glimpse into the new schools, along with photos, videos and other information. Today: Pangborn Elementary School Aug. 4: Rockland Woods Elementary School Aug. 11: Maugansville Elementary School HAGERSTOWN -- Sunlight streams through large windows on the school's upper floor and into an open common area.