Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Facilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Maryland School for the Deaf gets $12.2M in FY26; DLS flags early design procurement and delayed construction manager hire
Summary
The Department of Legislative Services recommended $12.2 million in fiscal 2026 for new high‑school residences at the Maryland School for the Deaf's Frederick campus but raised concerns about initial design procurement and the late hiring of a construction manager at‑risk.
Laura Hyde, budget analyst for the Department of Legislative Services, told the Capital Budget Subcommittee that the Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) is allocated $12,200,000 in fiscal 2026 for high‑school residences on the Frederick campus and a first‑time $240,000 authorization for the Hessian Barracks project. Hyde said the high‑school residences project was initially funded in the fiscal 2024 capital improvement program and involves three overlapping phases that will demolish three buildings and construct three new dormitories.
Hyde said the project uses a construction manager at‑risk procurement approach but noted problems with the timing of the procurement. “DLS notes that typically it is best practice to retain a construction manager in the first contract prior to solicitation of design,” Hyde told the subcommittee, adding that an initial design solicitation proceeded without that service and the construction manager is not scheduled to be hired until July 2025. DLS asked the Department of General Services to brief the committees on the problems encountered in the initial design procurement and the decision not to procure a construction manager at the outset of the fiscal 2024 design authorization.
John Serrano, superintendent of the Maryland School for the Deaf, and Anne Miller, MSD’s chief financial and operating officer, said MSD concurs with the DLS analysis and described engagement with students and staff in the design phase. “Our staff and our students are fully engaged in the design phase to ensure that our new dorms will reflect not only the needs and mission, but also the desires of those who will live here,” Serrano said, noting the design process has been “very engaging and inspiring.”
Hyde also summarized MSD’s enrollment and a separate Hudson Barracks renovation; DLS recommended concurrence with the governor’s allowance for the state‑owned projects affecting MSD. The presentation closed with the subcommittee taking no additional action but requesting DGS briefings on the procurement choices and schedule.
MSD representatives said they will continue to work with the Department of Budget and Management and Department of General Services to move design and construction forward under the agency’s stated timeline.
