EDGEWATER, Md. — Back to school hasn’t come without its challenges in counties across the state.
The $50 million renovation of Edgewater Elementary was years in the making.
The pandemic and the tornado a couple of weeks ago it delayed the ribbon cutting grand opening.
On Tuesday county leaders, parents, and staff came together to celebrate its opening.
“I have a fifth grader and a first grader,” said Marianne Caparosa. “They both love the school. My daughter that’s a fifth grader is a little bummed because she’s only here for a year. My daughter in 5th grade is so excited because she gets to start her school career here in a beautiful building.”
The glass exterior shines plenty of light on the gem of the rebuild— a state of the art media center.
Principal Kimberly VerMerris said the 60 year old facility now matches their greatest asset.
“Our staff is just phenomenal,” VerMerris said. “They go above and beyond everyday all day.”
They were supposed to have the grand opening the day after a tornado ripped through the area.
Luckily the school wasn’t in the path— and the staff jumped into action to help.
“People were here, the staff during the tornado,” VerMerris said. “The next two days we went out into the community to try to help clean up as best we could to support them and help bring them water and food. Local businesses did everything they could to provide donuts and bagels and everything they could which was just amazing to see.”
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said the money wasn’t there for projects like this when he came into office.
He’s glad the taxpayers were on board with the decision to invest in the future.
“We were facing a shortfall in our ability to do these capital projects so we had to create a new fund. The permanent public improvement fund,” Pittman said. I”t was $250 million, it was bonds that could do $250 in projects.”
Pittman said that now that this school is up and running they are going to use the rest of that $200 million to get some more renovations for schools in Anne Arundel County including the Old Mill Cluster.
