on Wednesday is set to vote on a contract to allow a developer to pay for the construction of 12 new classrooms at Meade High School.
The developers of Arundel Gateway have agreed to pay $4.5 million to expand the high school in order to accommodate new students expected from the new development project.
Ribera Development and Greenberg Gibbons plan to build a mixed-use project of 1,600 homes with office space and retail just to the south of Maryland Route 198 and east of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Laurel.
Because Meade High is considered “closed” for new students, the Arundel Gateway project would not receive county approval without new school capacity.
Arundel Gateway has not yet received sketch-plan approval from the county.
Schools Superintendent Kevin Maxwell has recommended approval of the contract.
If approved, the arrangement between Arundel Gateway and the school system would be the second of its kind in the county, spokesman Bob Mosier said. Two years ago, the board approved a contract allowing a homebuilder to pay for an addition at .
Separately, the board will vote Wednesday on a construction agreement involving new instruction space in the Maryland City Elementary School attendance area. The Imagine Global Village Academy Public Contract School, which has been proposed as part of a development project known as Riverwood, would offer space to accommodate students from the Arundel Gateway project.
The Riverwood and Arundel Gateway projects, however, are not related.
The developers of Arundel Gateway did not return calls requesting comment Tuesday.
