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Dundalk parents frustrated by crumbling school

Posted at 9:45 AM, Sep 10, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-10 09:45:38-04
For Baltimore County, it is a lack of air conditioning in 52 schools that pushed the decision to close school two hours early Wednesday afternoon.
 
A group of parents from Dundalk Elementary School reached out to ABC2. Their's is one of the dozens in Baltimore County without air conditioning. 
 
"It's horrible when she comes home and she says mommy it feels like hot lava in the school. So that's been rough," Sherri Schaeffer, a PTA member, said. 
 
The parents said there are many other concerns with this building aside from the temperatures. They said the problems had them calling State Sen. Johnny Ray Salling to come see for himself. 
 
"There's so much more than meets the eye when you walk into the building," Salling said. 
 
"It's not A/C. It's the school. It's just shot. We're not saying we're anymore special than anyone else. But we're different. It's a different situation. It's infrastructure, electric, plumbing," Blane Wray, the PTA president, told ABC2. 
 
Wray and the group snapped pictures inside that they say show the deterioration of the building over the years.
They said it is time to stop putting band aids on the problems. 
 
"We ultimately need a new school built. Dundalk Elementary has been here, like I said, since 1926. It's time for a new school," Schaeffer said. 
 
They are looking to Senator Salling to help them get there. He said it's time for his neglected 6th district to get some much needed attention. 
 
"There's a lot of words. Sometimes they're good, but we want action. We want something done. This is just a start," Salling said.