Howard County families, staff push harder for renovations at Oakland Mills High School

A Howard County high school community has ramped up its voices this week to push for renovations at its school.

Families and staff at Oakland Mills High School say their concerns continue to be put on the back burner, especially by recent decisions by the Board of Education.

Renovations were included in a recent county capital budget, but those plans have been delayed again.

Changing the priorities

Mold on the ceiling, water standing in a sink, and even a sink hanging off the wall are some of the issues Oakland Mills High students and faculty say are part of the school building's disrepair.

Jake Favero, a senior and the president of the school's Student Government Association, has been speaking out about the problems for years. 

He testified Monday night against a measure to the Howard County Council from the Board of Education that reprioritized his school's renovations to the lower end of the totem pole.

Favero noted Oakland Mills High is the county's most concentrated brown and black student population.

"I testified two years ago at the Board of Education meeting about the conditions of my high school, and I'm back tonight as a senior," Favero said. "The county's own data shows that no school needs more attention urgently than ours, yet somehow the school with the most documented problems is now the least prioritized."

At its November 6 meeting, the Board of Education approved in a 6-1 vote an updated list of locally funded projects under the fiscal year 2027 capital budget.

The updated list took away Oakland Mills High's renovation funding to instead fund a new elementary school, as well as renovations and HVAC work at two other schools.

The board was going off a new facilities prioritization list.

The county council voted 3-2 on Monday to send the updated list to the state.

Jolene Mosley, the board's chair, was the sole no vote.

"I really feel like we can do better by not just always bucking the same people, but bringing them closer and bringing them into their education experience. We want them to have good facilities, we want them to be proud of their school building," Mosley said before the November 6 vote.

The board will get the capital budget back in January and will start more discussions on it then.

Making their voices heard

Since Monday, families and staff have been starting their day protesting outside of Oakland Mills High. Students have also started an online petition.

They say their fight isn't over.

"We don't want to be 20, 30 years down the road to hear these commercials, 'If you attended Oakland Mills High School, please call because you have a lawsuit.' That's absurd," said David Dalencour, a parent of an Oakland Mills High student, at Monday's county council legislative public hearing. 

The community plans to continue to protest outside of the school through Thursday, as well as speak out at every Board of Education meeting from here on out.