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Teachers and community urge Howard County board to restore Oakland Mills renovations to FY27 capital budget
Summary
Teachers, parents and community members urged the Howard County Board of Education to restore Oakland Mills High School’s renovation to the FY27 capital budget, arguing delays endanger students and staff and worsen inequities; board members acknowledged concerns and said budget trade-offs are coming in January.
Nicholas Berry, a social studies teacher at Oakland Mills High School, told the Howard County Board of Education on Dec. 16 that the board’s decision to remove his school from upcoming renovation funding has made it “very difficult to recruit and retain” teachers and left students in unsafe conditions.
Berry, who introduced himself as a 2021 Howard County Teacher of the Year during the public forum, described mold, repeated HVAC failures, water fountains labeled unsafe for drinking and other building problems, and urged the board to "recall your vote and vote to restore the Oakland Mills High School renovations to the FY '27 capital budget." He said Oakland Mills serves about 1,400 students and almost 200 staff and cautioned that “when you took our school off of the renovation…
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