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The aerospace technology magnet program at Parkland Middle School in Aspen Hill will continue for the 2010-2011 year after county financial challenges sent parents to the school board and the council asking them not to trim teaching positions that might have impacted the program.

"Here at Parkland, we haven't had to change anything to our programs," said Parkland's magnet coordinator, Donna Blaney. "We're still offering all of the classes that we have in our program."

In May, the county Board of Education decided not to eliminate eight teaching positions in the middle school magnet consortium, which includes Parkland, A. Mario Loiederman in Wheaton and Argyle in Layhill, from the fiscal 2011 budget. The staff reduction would have saved the school system $515,472 from its operating budget.

Parents and students had appealed to the school board at two public hearings in January and spoke at a County Council public hearing in April to prevent cuts to the middle school magnet consortium programs.

Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig said the magnet consortium program "was never on the budget's chopping block to begin with."

"Every effort was made to protect the programs that we know are having the biggest impact such as the magnet consortium," Tofig said. "Every step was taken to protect them."

Tofig said the potential cuts were not included in the proposed operating budget for fiscal 2011 and would have only been implemented if the school system did not gain full funding from the county.

"I think there was a lot of value put on [the magnet program] by Dr. [Jerry] Weast, the Board of Education, the county executive and the County Council," Tofig said.

Students that feed into Parkland, Loiederman and Argyle can choose to attend the aerospace technology magnet program at Parkland, the creative and performing arts magnet program at Loiederman or the digital design and technology program at Argyle.

Construction continues

at Redland Middle School

Construction work on Redland Middle School in Derwood will continue through this year, and will not be complete until 2011.

The improvements are being made to the school's interior. Redland will have a new mechanical system, light fixtures, ceiling tiles, walls extending to the roof deck and a new roof. Construction crews also will renovate the science laboratories, replace the floor tiles and carpet, and repaint the walls.

Redland, which opened in 1971, was designed with an open floor plan and walls in classrooms did not run the length of the room or as high as the ceiling. Renovations began in June 2009.

Joyce Jessell, acting director of the Division of Construction in the county school system's Department of Facilities Management, said the renovation work is about 60 percent complete.

Jessell said 13 portable classrooms are on site and students are being rotated through those classrooms as construction work is completed.

She said the total cost for the renovation project is $11 million.

Redland Middle School is at 6505 Muncaster Mill Road.

Walter Johnson construction

is completed

At the peak of construction two years ago, Walter Johnson High School had more than 1,000 students in 49 portables, Principal Chris Garran said.

"We called it our ‘portable city,' even I had my office out there," he said.

"The nice thing is to be finally opening a school year for the first time in five years without construction on campus," Garran said.

The modernization of Walter Johnson High School added a third floor over an existing wing and a new three-story wing, an art gallery, a common area, a recording studio and updated sports facilities, Garran said. The project has been in the works since 1997 and cost about $77 million.

For seniors like student government President Michael New, the end of construction means some long-awaited normality after three years of making due with whatever space was available.

"I'm looking forward to not having to see construction workers in the school every day," said New, 16, of Rockville. "It's kind of annoying."

The completed gymnasium will also allow his fellow basketball teammates to practice on their own turf, instead of traveling to other schools, he said.

Room for additional growth was also kept in mind during the modernization, Garran said. The back wall of one of the school's wings is made of mostly glass windows so a future addition can be built if needed. The old school was 309,995 square feet; the upgrades bring the school to 346,435 square feet.

About 2,150 students are enrolled this school year and the capacity of the modernized school is about 2,300 students, he said.

Staff Writers Peggy McEwan and Cody Calamaio contributed to this report.

mliu@gazette.net, pmcewan@gazette.net and ccalamaio@gazette.net