More News

Eight Prince George's County schools that were shut down to save money may have yet another cost-cutting use: office space.

The county school board debated at a budget meeting Oct. 21 how to best use the schools that were closed last year when students were transferred to nearby schools under enrollment capacity to balance out enrollment and adjust to budget shortfalls, saving nearly $6 million.

At the time of the closures, board members said the buildings would be reopened in the future for community use, specialty programs or nonprofit groups.

School officials said they have received nearly 20 applications from community members and organizations, seeking to use the facilities. Applications for facility use were due Oct. 13 and will be reviewed by schools Superintendent William Hite, who did not attend the meeting.

At the meeting, board Vice Chairman Ron Watson (At-large) suggested housing staff in the closed schools to reduce spending and eliminate leasing office space.

"We've got a budget issue, and I think we need to be realistic," Watson said. "We're not going to reopen all these schools."

Lawrence Fryer, the school system's chief operating officer, suggested that 156 employees currently housed at two facilities with expiring leases should be moved next year to two elementary schools.

The school system is paying $1.8 million this year to lease a space in Upper Marlboro, Largo and two offices in Beltsville, Fryer said.

Two of the leases will be expiring in August and October 2010 while the remaining two leases are good through August 2012. Thirty staff members from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction are currently working from the second floor of the Christian Hope Ministries building, located at 6251 Ammendale Road in Beltsville, which was leased this year through August for $730,454, Fryer said.

Another 126 employees, from the High School Consortium and Area 2 and 4 offices, are housed at a Largo space, located at 1801 McCormick Drive. The Largo space was leased for a year through October for $767,756, he said.

"We need to consider this when we are repurposing these [school] buildings," Fryer said.

Fryer suggested John Carroll and Matthew Henson elementary schools, both in Landover, should be used as staff headquarters for the displaced departments because of their central location in the county.

Board Chairwoman Verjeana Jacobs (At-large) agreed that while enrichment programs are important, a portion of the facilities should be used for office space.

"That's a lot of [free] buildings," she said Wednesday. "This is a lot of money we are putting in leases."

Along with John Carroll and Matthew Henson, the closed schools include Berkshire Elementary in District Heights, G. Gardner Shugart Middle in Temple Hills, John Eager Howard Elementary in Capitol Heights, Middleton Valley Elementary in Temple Hills, Morningside Elementary in Suitland and Owens Road Elementary in Oxon Hill.

Board member Pat Fletcher (Dist. 3) urged that the usage of the shuttered schools be decided with community input.

"This makes me feel like we said something untrue to our constituents," Fletcher said. "We promised those citizens within that district they would be able to have choice programs available to them."

Hite said previously that his top priority for using the buildings is to expand specialty programs, such as language immersion or Talented and Gifted programs. He is expected to make his recommendations to the board Nov. 10.

In May, the board was forced to break a lease on a new headquarters building in Upper Marlboro after the General Assembly banned the school system from spending any money to lease the Washington Plaza office space.

The school system's headquarters are currently located in a former Upper Marlboro high school at 14201 School Lane.