County Stands to Gain Greater Ground by Continuing to Apply New Solutions to Traditional Problems

By Raoul Dennis

The $28 million that will be applied toward developing six new schools in the county will go further than building new, much-needed schoolhouses. In fact, the $1.2 billion overall public-private partnership will yield quite a bit for residents and stakeholders well beyond the education arena.

To begin with, it will provide some 3,000 new jobs, provide contract opportunities for county-based businesses and increased local Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2%. For more details, see the full presentation shared with the County Council (click here).

The Prince George’s County Council followed almost immediately by the Prince Georges County Public Schools Board of Education approved the plan for an alternative method for developing, building and maintaining six new schools. In spite of a little handwringing, the new plan approved last week by all major parties including the county executive, will have far-reaching and perhaps model forming implications for future similar development across the nation.

Four of the schools will be ready by July 2024 with the two remaining schools scheduled to open no later than December 2023.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks wrote in a recent Washington Post op-ed, that the effort will allow for “the construction of six new county schools over the next three years, a process that would typically take 12 years, through an Alternative Construction Finance Program.

“With [the] vote, the County Council continues to make critical investments in our children, their families and our county, and reinforces school construction as a priority,” wrote Prince George’s County Council Chair Todd M. Turner (see “Welcome to the New Schools,” click here).

Says At-Large County Councilmember Calvin Hawkins: “This very important and measured effort did not happen overnight. Since 2016, the General Assembly studied possibilities to push for Maryland to rebuild and improve infrastructure to reflect the vision of providing 21st-century schools and a comprehensive report was produced. One of its major recommendations was to find alternative forms of financing to support the procurement process. In 2018, the General Assembly passed legislation to support the Public School Facility Construction Innovation Incentive Pilot Program which provided incentives to public school systems to pursue innovative construction projects,” he explains.

Councilmember Dannielle Glaros (D-Dist. 3) was an early supporter of the approach. “As Council Chair in 2018, I proposed a resolution to create the Alternative Construction Funding Workgroup, a multi-member coordinating group made up of the county partners,” Glaros says (see “Reimagining The Learning Place,” click here).

Not every councilmember agreed with the move. Monique Anderson-Walker (D-District 8), who voted ‘no,’ pushed back against the plan over transparency and timing.

“In explaining her vote, the councilmember firmly stands on her position of requiring transparency with county residents about the P3 partnership,” Anderson Walker noted in her weekly newsletter.

“[I understand] the impact of the long-term debt being undertaken and addressing current infrastructure and deteriorated buildings located throughout the County. [But] as we consider the changing paradigm of how we approach moving forward during a pandemic, I believe now is not the time to be taking on massive debt, but rather to use the Capital Improvement Budget (CIP) and operating funds to focus on our students who are being left behind because of glaring gaps in technology and the area of special needs.”

The county’s Board of Education took awhile to accept the plan as well. But the board came to agreement with the unorthodox plan.

The decision has sparked considerable buy-in from all major corners of the county, including the business community.

“The concept represents everything we should be striving for, with meaningful long-term savings, including all maintenance costs at the six facilities, significant local and minority business participation and newer buildings providing a safer, cleaner environment for county children, while addressing future overpopulation issues,” said Greater Prince George’s County Business Roundtable President and CEO M.H. Jim Estepp. Estepp was a leading voice at an Alsobrooks led town hall on the subject that drew some 1,700 participants.

"I am very pleased that County Executive Angela Alsobrooks' Alternate Construction Financing initiative is moving forward,” Estepp said. “Thank you to the members of the Prince George's County Council and County School Board who voted in favor of the measure for recognizing the importance of this innovative idea. This unique partnership allows the county to serve as a model for other communities throughout the nation, and we should all be proud it has moved across the finish line."