Franchot Urges Parents to Demand Air Conditioning at Westowne Elementary School

While a bond issue up for a vote this November will pay for air conditioning at Arbutus and Catonsville elementary schools, parents are steamed that the 62-year-old Westowne school isn't on the system's priority list.

While an electric fan droned in a sultry gymnasium at Westowne Elementary School last Wednesday night, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot spoke with members of the school's Parent Teacher Association and urged parents to take action to bring air conditioning to the 62-year-old facility. "Get the government to do something for you," Franchot said. "Do it. You have the power." Parents of students attending the school, located at 401 Harlem Lane, between Edmondson Avenue and Baltimore National Pike, expressed frustration that nearby schools—including Arbutus Elementary and Catonsville Elementary—have been scheduled for air conditioning while their own facility has been looked over. "We see these new schools in Baltimore County with all these…

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Catonsville Elementary School Slated for Air Conditioning

CES is among 10 county schools that will get air conditioning if a bond issue is approved in the general election

Heated Exchange Punctuates Hairston's Last 'Beg-a-thon' Appearance

Comptroller Peter Franchot tells the Baltimore County Public Schools superintendent that he's "tired of saying pretty please" on air conditioning.

Baltimore County schools Superintendent Joe Hairston's final appearance before the Board of Public Works ended in a heated exchange about air conditioning. Hairston, who is in the final months of his 12-year career with the schools system, found himself on the bad side of Comptroller Peter Franchot as he asked for $70 million in state money. Franchot launched into a five minute monologue about the lack of air conditioning in Baltimore County schools. "I'm kind of tired of saying 'pretty please.' I really am," Franchot said.  Franchot specifically highlighted conditions at Middleborough Elementary School in Essex. Parents from the school attended Wednesday's meeting as they did in October when county officials asked for $7 million in school…

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State Panel Rejects Call to Fund School Air Conditioning

The comptroller had asked that half of a $7 million request for Baltimore County be withheld until there was a plan to install temporary window units in some schools.

The state Board of Public Works voted Wednesday to approve $7 million in improvements to seven westside schools in Baltimore County. Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Treasurer Nancy Kopp voted down a motion by Comptroller Peter Franchot that would have withheld $3.5 million until there was a plan to install air conditioning in come county schools. Schools slated for the money include: About $3.3 million is slated to go toward replacing windows at Woodlawn High School. The county notes in its request that 56 percent of the school's population is eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. The decision disappointed the parents and students of one Essex elementary school who came to Annapolis to ask the board for air conditioning. "We didn't …

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