Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard Responds to the County Executive’s Capital Budget Recommendation
“I am pleased that the Montgomery County Executive recommended a six-year capital budget that will allow Montgomery College capital projects to continue to move forward, and provide our students with quality facilities to prepare for future careers. The recommendation calls for $348.1 million, with nearly $90 million in support from the state.
Montgomery College has the largest space deficit of any community college in Maryland, and this deficit is likely to grow with expected enrollment growth in the public school system, as we continue to be the college of choice for the 60 percent of Montgomery County Public Schools graduates who choose to stay in the county for college. With his recommendation, the County Executive is choosing to make a strategic investment in quality, local postsecondary educational facilities for the community. Montgomery College must renovate and modernize existing facilities, as well as build new classrooms and laboratories, because two-thirds of all jobs in the state will require postsecondary education by 2018. Continued investments in MC ensure that socioeconomic status—so important given our community’s changing demographics—is not a barrier to a quality postsecondary education and high-paying jobs.
The Bioscience Education Center at the Germantown Campus will open for the fall 2014 semester; this building will house science classrooms, laboratories, and meeting spaces, to prepare students for employment in 21st century workplaces.
The recommended capital budget for Montgomery College includes the following projects:
· Renovation of the Science West Building, which will be the final building in the large Math/Science complex on the Rockville Campus
· Design and renovation of the Science and Applied Studies Building at the Germantown Campus
· Construction of a parking garage on the Rockville Campus to alleviate over-crowded student parking lots
· Design and construction of a new Student Services Center at the Rockville Campus, which will offer students one central, expanded facility for important services such as registration, enrollment, student life, and counseling/advising
· Design and construction (modernization) of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus Math/Science Building
· Design of the Germantown Student Services Center
The recommended capital budget will now go before the Montgomery County Council for consideration. I am confident that councilmembers will recognize that Montgomery County needs a strong community college now more than ever to enhance access to quality postsecondary education, to train the highly skilled workforce necessary to meet the current and future needs of our local employers, and to move Montgomery forward.”
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Montgomery College is a public, open admissions community college with campuses in Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring, plus workforce development/continuing education centers and off-site programs throughout Montgomery County, Md. The College serves nearly 60,000 students a year, through both credit and noncredit programs, in more than 130 areas of study.
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