SNOW HILL, Md. -- On Thursday, Maryland state officials announced state funding for a new Buckingham Elementary school could be back on the table. The news came at a meeting between the Inter Agency Commission, Worcester County leaders and officials from Worcester County Public Schools.
The IAC is the state agency who handles the funding for the construction of new schools. They provided multiple scenarios on Thursday where a new Buckingham Elementary could be built with state funding. No decision was made by the county, but the path forward is a little bit clearer.
However, while money from the state is a possibility once again, parents remain skeptical after the state backed out of the project late last year.
"I know the community and the Board of Education wants to make sure that Buckingham is built, but there seems to be a lot of hurdles to get there," said Emily Vocke.
IAC Executive Director Alex Donahue began Thursday's meeting by breaking down how the agency funds school projects. During that presentation, he provided a bit of clarity on why funding a new Buckingham could be tough.
He said there is less money available, school construction costs have risen 157% in the last 20 years, and there are 8 schools in Worcester County in need of repair.
But WCPS Superintendent Lou Taylor said he sees plenty of reasons that warrant building a new school with state funding.
"It's the only Title 1 school in the north end of the county, it has the largest population of minority students in the north end of our county," said Taylor.
There are four ways, according to the IAC, in which state funding is possible. If Buckingham Elementary and Berlin Intermediate School are combined, and a new school is built to house both, the state could provide up to $30 million.
If those two schools are replaced separately, the state could also provide $30 million, but construction could take longer and that chunk of money would be split between the two projects.
The third scenario would be moving 6th graders to Stephen Decatur Middle School and replace Buckingham as a Pre-K through 5th grade school. The state could provide up to $37 million for that project.
The fourth and last scenario provided by the IAC would be moving 6th grade to SDMS, replacing Buckingham as Pre-K through 5th grade and converting Ocean City and Showell Elementary schools to Pre-K through 5th grade. The state could pay up to $37 million for that project as well.
Donahue said on Thursday that amount is an estimate, and the projection could change in the future, dependent on how much money the state agency has available.
State funding being available at all though has led to some optimism from county leaders, including Commission President Chip Bertino.
"Very hopeful that there are four scenarios, possibly more, that could give us the opportunity to work with our school district as well as improve the quality of education for our students," said Bertino. "That's a huge plus for us."
The county has allocated $50 million for a new school, and Bertino said they will continue to look to the state for help.
"Conversations are going to be more focused on how we can leverage as much money from the state as possible on the projects that are necessary for our school system," said Bertino.
State funding for Buckingham Elementary is possible. Still, Thursday's meeting was not the glimmer of hope everyone was looking for.
