In what critics are calling a not-well-thought-out decision, the Baltimore County Board of Education voted Tuesday evening to forge ahead on a list of renovation projects that will be paid for with money previously earmarked for the expansion of Loch Raven High School.

“The board made its decision and the list which contains 42 projects is in priority order,” said Board President JoAnn Murphy. “It will be completed as far as the money will go down the list.”

Members of the County Council voted earlier this week to transfer $12 million which became available after the board scrapped plans last month for a 400-seat addition to Loch Raven in hopes of alleviating overcrowding at several northeast high schools — including Towson and Perry Hall.

However, county lawmakers and parents who have been pushing for a new school have questioned use of the funds — most of which will go toward re-paving school parking lots, replacing tracks and upgrading tennis courts.

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The list of items was submitted earlier this year as part of the school system’s capital budget but it was not included in County Executive Jim Smith’s FY09 spending plan.

David Marks, president of the Perry Hall Improvement Association, said the $12 million has nothing to do with relieving overcrowding. During Tuesday’s meeting he presented the board with a petition of 1,600 signatures in support of a new high school. According to Marks, the board realizes the need for a new facility and the signatures are a way of letting it know it has the community’s support.

Otherwise, “moving forward on the list is not a good decision,” Marks said. “They rushed to get the projects approved when the money could have been better spent to purchase land [for a school site].”

Smith spokesman Don Mohler emphasized that neither Smith nor the County Council had anything to do with the inclusion of items on the list. “It was created and prioritized by the Board of Education,” he said. “All [the county] did was fund a request” to get the projects started.

Nonetheless, Marks contends that a new high school will eventually be constructed.

“I think it’ll be built after the current county executive leaves office,” he said.

drowley@baltimoreexaminer.com