Rundown of the event:
On February 19, a listening session was held at BHS by the Board of Education members. Those in the Brunswick community could come to the school and voice their concerns and hopes for our community, and most importantly, our school.
There were lots of different topics and issues asked about, but the most asked about were related to the school building. Many people had a major issue with the cleanliness of the school, with mold being on walls and ceilings, asbestos being used in the school, locker rooms being dirty, and sometimes even having sewage water in them.
Asbestos is definitely a big issue mentioned. The reason this is such a big issue is because of the potential health concerns, it can lead to serious health issues like lung cancer.
One thing that has been bothering everyone for a long time is how overlooked our school is, along with others, compared to schools like Urbana High in Frederick county. Urbana has much better facilities, and more opportunities than Brunswick—it’s a bigger campus and building capacity as well. While they do have more because they have more students, every single student, regardless of what school they go to and how many attend, should have just as many opportunities, and just as good facilities that other students have at other schools.
All students should have access to great opportunities like more college level courses, or just having some in general. Many FCC classes may not be available because of budget issues with schools, and transportation methods not being available.
Now, the biggest concern was the school rebuild.
Most people at the event were there mostly for that reason and wanted to know if staff can expect a rebuild in the future. Many points were brought up like the school not being clean, having mold and asbestos in the school, facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms simply not being good enough or accommodating enough to everyone, tons of safety issues and those issues essentially having a band-aid put over them, the list goes on.
At the event itself, nothing was said about students getting a new school, but in “Funding For A Better Brunswick High” by Ava Bonanno, she wrote about how Railroaders can expect a new school in the future.
As the event progressed, many complaints were listed and shared. Some felt that the members weren’t competent or being transparent or truly listening to the complaints. But this was a listening session, not a session to find solutions for the community.
They were giving many responses like “That would be an interesting idea,” and no actual input or ideas to help.
Though, based on the recent news of a new school, the community can assume they are addressing most issues.
What can we expect in the future?
Members and the community discussed ways to work together to help students succeed, and people suggested better access to FCC classes, and transportation to and from school to the classes. They discussed getting buses to transport students to Frederick Community College, as many students don’t have transportation to the classes.
Railroaders can expect a new school building in the future, which would solve the health, safety, and accommodation issues currently at Brunswick.
Overall, the future looks good for Brunswick and its students, and is something that students and staff can look forward to.