New Bowie high school plans slip in CIP again By MATT ARMES Staff Writer
Plans for the new Bowie high school being built on Mitchellville Road in a few years just got moved back - again.
According to the recently released Proposed County 2009-2014 Capital Improvement Program Summary of Bowie Projects, all planning funds for the new school have been moved from "Years 2-5" to "Beyond 6 years."
This new drop in the county's priority list proved to be yet another blow to a community in need of another high school. In the FY 2009-2014 county priority list, the request for a new high school in Bowie slipped to No. 20, a slight but noticeable drop from the FY 2008-2013 priority listing of No. 14.
In a letter written to Prince George's County Council Chairman Samuel Dean, the Bowie City Council explained its concern and disappointment regarding the school's slip in priority.
The letter, slated to be sent by Friday, states that in the early 1980s, a portion of land on Mitchellville Road in Bowie was dedicated as a high school site, because the county recognized that major growth would take place in the area, requiring the need for a second high school to serve the greater Bowie area.
"As predicted, the growth has occurred and Bowie High School has been severely overcrowded for more than a decade," the letter stated. "Acknowledging this long-standing need, the County Council voted in 2006 to include a new Bowie area high school in the CIP to be constructed by FY 2010."
The letter also cites an unexpected planning delay when the county Board of Education voted to place another high school project ahead of the Bowie area high school.
According to the new proposed CIP, the Bowie area high school is planned for after the replacement of Oxon Hill and Fairmont Heights high schools and the construction of a high school at an undetermined location in the northern part of the county.
"While we recognize the need for new school buildings exists throughout the county, we are deeply disappointed by these decisions that will now delay construction of the new Bowie area high school until 2015 at the earliest," the letter concludes.
"We strongly urge the council to move the new Bowie area high school project forward in the CIP."
The estimated completion date of August 2015 remains unchanged. The projected cost of constructing the high school hovers around $84 million, and the enrollment capacity remains at 1,800 students.
Several City Council members conveyed their frustration over the County Council's recent choice, which now has the high school being built in 2015 instead of FY 2010.
"We're disappointed with the County Council's decision to move the high school back five more years," said Dr. Isaac Trouth, "and we don't know what the climate is in regard to their reason for moving it back."
At a City Council meeting Monday evening, Mayor Fred Robinson urged his colleagues to make its message to the County Council more forceful.
"We bit our lips when they kicked us out and moved others up," he said. "The school at Mitchellville needs to be next."
He also said the city needs "to be told why they pushed us out" while talking about the city housing Bladensburg High for two years while their high school was built.
"It's certainly very frustrating," he stated. "We worked our way to the top of the list two or three times now, only to be stopped at the last minute, and the county keeps moving the goalposts back on us."
Robinson said that this particular setback proved to be more frustrating than the previous delays, citing promises that Prince George's County Public Schools Superintendent John Deasy and County Executive Jack Johnson made a few years ago that the plans for the Bowie high school would move forward.
"I don't think there's a community in the county that stands up for education like Bowie does," he said. "We support the educational system, the teachers and the students on a countywide basis. This is not only an affront, it's an absolute slap in the face."
After the City Council makes final revisions to the letter and sends it Friday, Robinson said it would be up to the County Council to move the new high school plans back to the top of the list or allow it to slip even further.
"Someone has to make a decision as to whether the current program will stand as it is or whether they'll honor the commitments they made to the city."
