Sen. Carozza, Del. Otto & Hartman call on Gov. Moore to help with funding for new Buckingham Elementary School
WORCESTER CO., Md. – State Senator Mary Beth Carozza and State Delegates Charles Otto and Wayne Hartman have sent a letter to Governor Wes Moore, requesting the necessary state funding to build a new Buckingham Elementary School.
It was announced on Tuesday that construction on the new school would be paused due to a lack of funding. As a result, the Worcester County Delegation is calling on Governor Moore to secure the funding. They say that it’s time to address the building and instructional space deficiencies identified in the January 2023 Buckingham Elementary Feasibility Study, especially considering that the school was built in 1978 with no major renovations or additions in 45 years.
The letter reads, in part, “We especially are concerned and dismayed with the recent ruling by the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) that Buckingham Elementary School is not eligible for State funding. When Worcester County requested State funding for Showell Elementary School Replacement project four years ago, the IAC determined that neither Buckingham Elementary nor Berlin Intermediate School were considered adjacent schools to Showell Elementary.”
The letter continued by saying:
“On behalf of Worcester County, we specifically are requesting that the same IAC school adjacent interpretations and determinations which resulted in Worcester County receiving $8.67 million of State construction funding for the Showell Elementary project be applied to our request for Buckingham Elementary funding. In addition, we are requesting that the IAC consider a funding mechanism, which would allow access to the $5.99 million Built-To-Learn school construction funding allocated to Worcester County by the Maryland Stadium Authority through the 2021 Built-To-Learn legislation.
The entire Worcester County community has come together in support of the Build Buckingham campaign including the Worcester County Commission, the Berlin Chamber of Commerce, and numerous civic, faith-based, and community organizations representing a strong cross section of deep and strong support for the Buckingham Elementary Replacement School.
We urge you to support the necessary State funding for the Buckingham Elementary Replacement School and request your assistance in working with us and with Worcester County to move forward to make the Buckingham Elementary Replacement School a reality.”
