Baltimore City Public Schools have limited funds to make drastic maintenance improvements
Our CBS Innovation Lab has been crunching the data on education funding nationwide.
It found the higher the number of Black students in a school district, the less money it gets for building improvements.
Maryland is trying to bridge that gap with changes in school spending formulas.
Baltimore City has so many schools in need of improvements that it needs to make tough decisions with limited funds.
"If you look at it on the surface, it might look good," said Cyndi Smith, from Baltimore City Public Schools.
INNOVATION LAB: Majority-Black school districts have far less money to invest in buildings
Gardenville Elementary sits on the corner of Frankford Avenue and Belair Road in Northeast Baltimore. The more than 40-year-old school has several critical maintenance needs.
"If you really think about it, it's not adequate. This is not adequate for our kids," Smith said. "You have a lot of hidden issues in a building like this."
The issues include original sprinklers, decades past their life cycle, to a broken elevator. The floors of an upstairs classroom are separating from the exterior walls.
"I mean, look, the windows," Smith said. "Tiny, little windows, fogged over. You can't see out there at all."
Insulation is rotting away from moisture and portable classrooms are rotting away from time.
"The permanent 'temporary' structures? Yeah, they've been here way too long," Smith said.
The floors are separated from the exterior walls.
Smith heads up Facilities, Design and Construction with Baltimore City Schools.
The main issue at Gardenville Elementary School dates back to when it was built when so-called "open space" education was king, she says.
"Open space," piling as many students in one big area, did not last long.
The result is multiple classes divided in one room with holes cut out so air can circulate.
"Different classrooms, different teachers, different learning levels," Smith said. "The teachers are really making the best of a bad situation."
One of those hidden issues is what's grabbed headlines in recent years.
The school's air conditioning is working, most of the time. The chiller is an antique.
"Even before the door opens, it sounds a little not welcoming," Smith said. "That's not what that's supposed to sound like at all."
Smith says Gardenville is not an exception. About 75 percent of Baltimore City schools have multiple serious maintenance issues.
Baltimore City Schools' Maintenance and Capital needs far exceed its budget, which is a combined $107.3 million. Smith says the need is more like $350 million annually.
"I'm just constantly working at a deficit," Smith said. "There's just no way to make up that kind of difference annually."
Smith points to neighboring Baltimore County where budget documents show the county pitches in $212 million for capital projects. City Schools get $19 million from Baltimore City.
"That's Duct tape and Band-Aids," Smith said. "That's not being able to fully repair stuff, because it's not enough money."
Budget documents show declining city enrollment is cited as a challenge.
There are one-time influxes of money, like federal ESSER funds, which the district used to renovate 27 bathrooms, including Gardenville.
"The rest of the buildings should get the same upgrades that we've been able to invest in in very small, limited spaces," Smith said.
"In a place like Baltimore City where I represent, there are just fewer dollars available at a local level and enormous competing needs," Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said. "And so that's where it is the duty of the state to step in and help fill that void."
Ferguson points to 21st Century Schools funds among the investments working. Those funds were used to build the new Medfield Heights Elementary.
"We service 1st through 5th grade here in the Medfield area," principal Kathy O'Neill said.
O'Neill used to teach at the old building, not unlike Gardenville.
"It gives everyone a renewed sense of pride in, not only their building but their education," O'Neill said.
The school is equipped with an outdoor learning area and big windows letting in natural light, which experts say that is critical to helping students academically.
"I mean, that's the first thing you notice when you walk in here is that daylight, the gorgeous windows, the views to nature," Smith said.
Smith points to amenities and necessities in Medfield's classrooms with updated tech and storage for students, instead of busted-up lockers at other schools.
The challenge for Baltimore City Schools is keeping the excitement at all schools.
"The students want to take ownership here and they want to keep it looking the way it does," Smith said.
