Prince George’s County to build eight new schools next month

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) — Prince George’s County is one approval away from receiving eight brand new schools in the county.

The county council approved that measure on Tuesday. It was voted on weeks prior but didn’t receive enough to pass at the time.

The project will cost $800 million which will be paid back over the next 30 years.

The schools will be mostly be across the northern part of the county which has led some to oppose the bill. But Councilmember Wanika Fisher is willing to work with what the county has for this.

“It’s almost like a huge loan, and our children are worth that financial commitment and that’s my perspective on the amount,” she said. “I rather have paid for a desk than a jail cell. That’s just me.”

Fisher states that county’s schooling system is facing over-population in certain districts, like her own. She believes this project can both fix that issue while also replacing outdated schools. While there are a lot of positives, some in the community think the negatives of this can outweigh the good.

Tonya Wingfield, a community advocate for Citizens for Accountability and Governance, broke down her problem with the location of the schools.

“It’s like a mortgage,” Wingfield said. “Think about when you buy a house for $200,000, you’re paying almost 1 million for that house when it’s all said and done.”

She likes the idea of the project, but said the current way it looks financially could set the county back greatly if not done correctly. She said while residents are happy to see new schools, the means of financing it should’ve been clearer with the public initially.

“I don’t think a lot of us […] did not pay attention to a lot of the the small print,” Tonya said.

The ICA still needs to approve the project. Fisher is confident that it will pass and has trust that the ICA will find the financial aspect more than adequate.

The ICA will vote in the coming weeks. The project is currently slated to start next month.

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