Hereford High May Undergo Major Renovations

The is considering a proposal to complete major renovations to Hereford High School that are estimated to cost more than $50 million.

A county diagram detailing potential additions to the 57-year-old structure at 17301 York Road in Parkton shows a three-floor extension to the main building. The addition will primarily house science classrooms and a new cafeteria.

"The cafeteria is too small for the students," said . "And we have more and more students going into the science field so we want to have these new [science] classrooms to meet that demand."

A 75,000-gallon water tank stands where the extension would be built. Plans call for the water tank will be taken down and a new 125,000-gallon tank built at a different location on the school campus. One million dollars has been allocated by the Board of Education to complete this project.

"The water tank is very leaky and it needed to be replaced," Last said.

If the proposal goes through, the main building will also undergo changes. Last said potential plans include a dance studio and instrumental storage space. And the old science classrooms would be used for other academic purposes.

, a spokesman for the Board of Education, said the county would ask the state for about 16.8 million for the renovation project, which was initially proposed in 2009 but shelved because of the recession. The rest of the money for the project, Herndon said, would presumably come out of the Board's own budget.

"The [state] money would primarily be for the initial planning stages of the project," Herndon said.

The Board's budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which totals $1.2 billion,

"No money has been appropriated yet," Herndon said.

And while Last thinks the school could use the renovations, he said that it is good teaching that provides a strong educational foundation, not an attractive structure.

Hereford, the northern-most high school in Baltimore County, has received the Baltimore County High School Achievement Award for the past 10 years and has also been honored as a top high school in the nation by Newsweek magazine.

"It is fairly important that we get the renovations so we don't have to use trailers," said Last, who took over as Hereford's principal in July. "But it's not for me to prioritize that money when someone higher up has a bigger picture than I do."

Last added that no students or parents have complained about the current setup.

Baltimore County , however, is actively campaigning for the renovations.

"A lot of these ," Huff said. "They are long overdue for renovations or even replacements."