Howard County (Map, News) - Emotions ran high and numbers were crunched, but in the end, proponents of a massive renovation project at a deficient school have finally made progress.

The estimated $57.3 million Mount Hebron High School renovation project took a huge leap forward after the Howard County Board of Education approved the project’s schematic design at Thursday’s meeting.

Parents of Help Mount Hebron, a subcommittee of the Ellicott City school’s PTA, were careful to comment afterward but said the vote was “encouraging.”

“Out of all the aggravation we’ve been through the last two years, I don’t know if I’ll be satisfied until we have a ribbon cutting,” said Help Mount Hebron member Steve Lucchesi after the meeting.

In recent years, the group has been fighting for changes amidst rodent problems, sewage leaks and a generally overcrowded 44-year-old school.

Prior to the vote, board members were briefed on Gilbert Architects’ assessment survey of the 12 county high schools, which found that Mount Hebron had the worst scores in areas such as “environment for education” and “educational adequacy.”

Major components of the project will be the demolition of the old English wing and construction of a 70,000-square-foot addition in its place, expanded and modernized fine arts, athletic and administrative suites and modernized heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

“I think the community as a whole should take pride in what we were able to achieve,” said parent Linda Dombrowski.

The board approved the project on a 5-1 vote, with Diane Mikulis casting the lone vote against the project.

“I think we need to be realistic,” she said. “What if we don’t get 57 million?”

Earlier this month, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman placed the school board’s $27 million funding request for the school in his proposed 2009 capital budget, but in a contingency fund.

Several other board members expressed concern that $57 million was a lot of money. A new building, though, was estimated to cost about $80 million.

“We don’t have the option to build a new school - that is absolutely not realistic,” said board vice chairwoman Ellen Flynn Giles.

A new building was advocated by over 100 Mount Hebron teachers this week, who said pouring that much money into renovations was not the wisest use of taxpayers’ money.

Superintendent Sydney Cousin took exception at this and said the goal was to use the money as “efficiently and effectively as possible.”

“With every fiber in my body, I feel this is the right thing to do,” said Ray Brown, the school system’s chief operating officer.

jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com