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www.jcpatriot.com Issue 1, Volume 48
October 2012
Photo courtesy of Facilities Department
(Above) An artistic rendering shows new turf fields and other additions to the campus. The first phase of the Master Plan has a pricetag of about $14 million. (Below) The new bathrooms are part of the welcoming atmosphere JC is striving for. They cost the school approximately $352,000 and were partially funded by an anonymous donor.
$47 MILLION PLAN BEGINS WITH BATHROOMS Emily Clarke, Martha Schick
Print Chief, Multimedia Chief As students use the new bathrooms in the foyer, the price of that toilet is the furthest thought from their minds. However, those toilets, sinks, televisions, mirrors, and other improvements cost $350,000. They are part of a plan that is ultimately projected to cost $47 million. According to President Richard O’Hara, the Master Facilities Plan, designed in 2008, is estimated to cost $47 million and be completed in 12 to 15 years. So far 43 donations have been made, adding up to approximately $1,550,890. Since 2008, no projects were completed until the recently renovated bathrooms. The time since 2008 has been spent planning, fundraising, designing, obtaining permits, and receiving permission from the Archdiocese. O’Hara refers to this phase of the plan as “the quiet phase.” The $350,000 bathrooms were the first project of Phase One, which will cost approximately $14 million. Phase One includes renovating the bathrooms, expanding the entry way for a third lane of traffic, renovating the academic wing, installing air conditioning in the auditorium and cafeteria, getting turf and lights on the main field, and renovating the locker rooms.
Photo by Martha Schick
According to O’Hara, the first phase is “hoped to be completed in the next five years.” The bathrooms were selected as the first project, according to O’Hara, because they were identified in January 2012 as an accessible goal. By January, an anonymous alumni donor offered to help fund the project. “I like the new bathrooms. I use them a lot more, but I don’t think they were needed. Just put the money into athletics,” senior Austin Markely said. Next on the agenda, according to O’Hara, is most likely adding air conditioning to the auditorium because it is “something we could handle financially and logistically.” “It doesn’t take long to complete and we have some potential sources of funding... $500,000 is
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not chicken feed, but neither is $6 million,” O’Hara said. O’Hara says that the “highest priority” of Phase One is the renovation of the academic wing. “To some degree, we are doing great things here educationally in spite of our facility and not because of it,” O’Hara said. The academic wing can’t be the next renovation because the approximately six million dollars needed is not raised yet. The schematic design alone will cost $250,000. “I think for those coming in that are now freshmen and sophomores may well see another project or two during their time here… I think it’s feasible that in the next couple years that you would see the air conditioning and [driveway],” O’Hara said. “I feel like the bathrooms were
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fine, but it’s not like we hang out in there. I wish they had redone the cafeteria first,” freshman Anna Martin said. Beyond Phase One, the Master Facilities Plan aims to create a new stadium, new chapel, new cafeteria, new band and chorus rooms, a new academic learning center to house the library, potentially add a new academic wing on top of the fine arts wing, and expand the auditorium. The plan also discusses the reconfiguration of pieces of the campus overall, such as parking inside the oval, a new walkway to the new stadium, a roundabout with statue of Archbishop John Carroll in the center, an alumni gathering area, and a grotto, which can hold wedding ceremonies, by the ponds. O’Hara says the past few
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years have been a lot of “working through our list [of potential donors] and setting up meetings with people,” ideally 10 a week. Principal Madelyn Ball believes the completion of the bathrooms will make a big difference in donations. “It’s hard to get money from people if they don’t see that you’re investing in yourself. It’s like saying that we don’t believe enough in ourselves,” Ball said. As for getting the needed donations from alumni, O’Hara doesn’t think it will be a problem, saying “If you believe in the mission of the school and the fact that you want to see JC be around in the next 5, 10, 15, 50 years this is what needs to happen to support it, otherwise we aren’t going to be able to compete. We have to move forward.”
Index News....................................2 Lifestyles...............................4 A&E.....................................7 In-Depth...............................8 Opinion...............................11 Sports................................14 The John Carroll School 703 E Churchville Rd Bel Air, MD 21014