After the Brunswick High School Rebuild Plan was recently pushed back another decade, the community questions if Brunswick students will ever attend high school in a new building.
The current Brunswick High School (BHS) has had the same learning environment for students since 1965. Now in 2023, there are many aspects of Brunswick that haven’t changed since for the 820 students in attendance. This enrollment will only increase with impending developments in the surrounding areas.
With enrollment increasing, it is safe to say Brunswick High School needs to be completely replaced—not any additions, not any updates, and not just modernizations.
Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) has been looking into different, more affordable options to make this project work within the already limited budget. While modernizing BHS would be the most budget-friendly option, the school has too many issues that modernization simply wouldn’t fix.
FCPS conducted a feasibility study in May 2019 and they found a multitude of issues with the current building. One major problem students face while attending Brunswick High School is accessibility.
The main stairs and all bathrooms, entrances, and exits are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The high school also contains “some” 9×9 tiles that tested positive for asbestos. The fire escapes do not meet current requirements, the building does not meet current energy standards, and there is not consistent technology throughout the classrooms.
This proves the equitable opportunities students have at other high schools within FCPS aren’t provided to the Railroader community.
Brunswick students have been noticing these inequities between BHS and other high schools in the county for quite some time now. Paige Trendell, a senior at Brunswick, spoke at the March 8, 2023, Board of Education (BOE) meeting, advocating for change and the way that FCPS makes the Brunswick community feel. When asked what Trendell believes was the most impactful part of her public comment, she responded, “[My] feelings. I had no facts that could be contested. It was purely how Brunswick’s rebuild being pushed back made me feel, and people can’t argue that.”
Jacob Winter, a 2023 Brunswick graduate, spoke at multiple BOE meetings as his time attending BHS dwindled and his future at Harvard University approached. Jacob has written two articles for the Brunswick High School newspaper, The Garnet & Gold Gazette, about the rebuild timeline. When asked why he feels so strongly about the BHS rebuild, Winter said, “Once I wrote the first article and became aware of the situation, I knew it was incumbent upon me to put the full weight of my voice behind the ongoing advocacy efforts and work to ensure FCPS deliver for all the kids around Brunswick who would be forced to receive an education in a building far outside its usable lifespan.”
With a brand new elementary school in Brunswick, to open in fall of 2023, how will future Railroaders feel about being taught in a new building, to then learn in the same space as many of their grandparents did?