— OAKLAND — The Garrett County Board of Education is proposing a major shuffle of the student population as well as a rearrangement of districts and class space as part of an ongoing effort to consolidate due to falling enrollment and a shrinking funding base.

After having studies completed on the school facilities and how they can best be utilized given the current student population, the school board has developed a four-year plan to consolidate the school system.

The consolidation will include moving many students to different schools and will cause families to review their transportation options.

Jane Wildesen, the supervisor of elementary education for the board, is also a member of the School Attendance Area Committee, which helped develop the set of recommendations that are a part of the new plan. The new consolidation plan is open for public input by email and postal mail through June. Two meetings, on June 16 at 5 p.m. at Southern Middle School and June 18 at a location to be determined, will be held to take public input as well. The board may take action on the plan at the June 18 meeting.

Wildesen, who stressed that she does not speak for the school board, said the consolidation plan has been a challenge.

“Anytime changes like this are considered it is difficult. We have already closed three elementary schools: Dennett Road, Bloomington and Kitzmiller,” said Wildesen.

The plan asks for the boundaries for all schools to be revised. The proposed changes in the new consolidation plan are as follows:

• Portable units adding eight classrooms will be added to Broad Ford Elementary School to alleviate overcrowding.

• Approximately 25 students from Broad Ford will be sent to Crellin.

• Broad Ford students living in the Swan Meadow district will have an option to attend Swan Meadow.

• Southern Middle School to undergo complete renovation. Sixth grade to use portable units during construction.

•  57 students at Broad Ford will be sent to Yough Glades.

• Approximately 47 students at Yough Glades to attend Swan Meadow.

• Swan Meadow to become K-5, with grades 6 to 8 attending Southern Middle.

Bus transportation will remain as is and will not be extended to encompass any of the proposed changes for the 2014/2015 school year. Any student who can use established routes will continue to be provided that bus service.

“If a stop is on the existing routes, we will honor that. The transportation system is being evaluated for 2015/2016. We are still analyzing the cost for transportation,” said Wildesen.

Wildesen said the renovations at Southern Middle School are extensive and will take two years. She said the project will depend on securing funding.

“The school is 37 years old and has never had any revisions. We are hoping for approval for the design phase. If approved, we could start in the summer of 2015,” she said.

The boundaries of the Swan Meadow, Broad Ford and Yough Glades districts are all being re-evaluated. The school system also wants to implement a universal start and end time for all schools.

The plan has a proposal that would grandfather the incoming fifth-graders at Broad Ford to stay at Broad Ford if they apply for an “Out of Area Request.”

“Our hope is for a far more efficient and sustainable delivery of educational services to all students,” said Wildesen.

Email input on the consolidation plan to areaenrollmentproposal@garrettcountyschools.org. Letters can be mailed to: Garrett County Public Schools, Attention: J. Wildesen, 40 S. Second St., Oakland, MD 21550.

Greg Larry can be contacted at glarry@times-news.com.

More here.

— OAKLAND  — Site work for the Strata manufacturing facility to be located at the Keysers Ridge Business Park is about 90 percent complete, according to Frank Shap, assistant director for Garrett County Economic Development.

“We will be ready to start pouring concrete we hope within a week or two for the footers for the building,” said Shap during Tuesday’s county commission meeting. “The building materials have been delivered to the site. Beitzel Corporation is the contractor for construction of the building and they plan to start soon as they have access to the site pad.”

In November, the commissioners awarded a $589,534 contract to Excavating Associates for site work at the park. They also awarded a $1,024,000 contract to Beitzel Corp. of Grantsville for design and construction of the facility

Strata Worldwide LLC will occupy the space in October and will offer 25 jobs over the next three years, according to Shap.

For the last 20 years, Strata Worldwide has been developing innovative safety solutions for underground coal mines all over the world, according to the company’s website.

“It’s the first tenant in what we are hoping will be additional tenants in the park focused on the energy sector,” said Shap. “We are trying to market that site as something that takes advantage of the various energy resources, opportunities and alternatives that are available in the county.”

Negotiations are underway for Exelon Corp., an American energy producer, trader and distributer that is developing wind farms in the county, to occupy a space in the park.

In April 2013, the Maryland Economic Development Corp. transferred more than 180 acres of land valued at $2.5 million to the commissioners to develop the park. In September 2013, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development entered into an agreement with the commissioners, providing $625,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding to partially finance the construction of a 12,000-square-foot building in the park.

The commissioners re-cently submitted a $900,000 funding request for a water treatment plant at the park to the Appalachian Regional Commission.

A plant is needed at the business park to serve both residents and businesses for the future development. Currently, residents are using septic systems and businesses are receiving wastewater service from Bruceton Farm Service, a private entity that no longer wants to provide those services, according to the preliminary project description.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

More here.