Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner today pledged to continue working toward a multi-pronged solution to address school overcrowding in the face of rapidly rising construction costs.
“There has been tremendous cooperation from everyone in our community in solving the great challenge for our schools,” said Executive Gardner. “Working together, we will put the pieces of the puzzle together, consider all the viable options and solve this challenge. We share a common goal and I am committed to building a consensus with elected officials, educators and our Board of Education, parents and PTA advocates and members of our business community, including the developers.”
Executive Gardner utilized this week’s public information briefing to discuss the magnitude of considerations surrounding school construction issues over the next six years and how they impact quality education. She outlined options such as controlling costs, advocating for state funding and legislation, delaying other capital projects to keep school projects on time, modifying current projects, continuing conversations with the development community about partnerships, and passing local legislation to increase development impact fees and mitigation fees.