Though Centennial High School goes another year without renovations, the building underwent some sizable change this past summer of 2025 under guidance of the school’s custodial team. Specifically, the heat, ventilation, air conditioning system (HVAC) obtained some much-needed upgrades in an attempt to modernize the outdated machinery.
This change, however, is miniscule in comparison to the mammoth amount of changes that are needed to modernize the entire school. Constant postponements to renovation dates have ended up causing an immense amount of frustration among the community.
I wander the halls with my mother, Sarah Lee, as she makes her way to different classrooms for 2024’s back-to-school night. “This school hasn’t changed one bit since I graduated!” Lee said.
For Lee, a 1998 Centennial alum, this building is a token of nostalgia. Engrossed in a flurry of memory, commenting on the classrooms, the various seats which she herself sat in, it is a bittersweet return for her.
Lee’s surprise at the unchanged physical status of the school may be nostalgic for her, but for current students and staff, it’s a stark reminder of the unchanged and outdated conditions that have remained prevalent for years.
Senior Neil Jariwala was asked about the state of Centennial’s physical building, specifically
about the lack of windows and cramped hallways. It did not take long for him to respond, saying “Our school feels like a prison.”
While harsh, this statement given by Jariwala is a testament to the status of the setting. With its windowless classrooms, abundance of mold, and particularly inconsistent temperatures, negativity surrounding the building has been a growing consensus shared by students and teachers alike.
“There’s been a lot of bug problems and I find it really disgusting,” says Blythe Zheng, a senior at Centennial High School. “And a lot of times I’ve seen just mice run around and it’s really unsettling.”
Perhaps creature infestations are a common part of every school, but in a school that has not changed since its establishment, the likelihood of critters dwelling in every crevice and corner only increases. And that, as a result, creates additional potential disruptions and distractions in the school environment.
All these comments shining light on the issue have not gone unnoticed. In recent years, community members have mounted growing pressure to accelerate the long-promised renovations at Centennial. Just last year, numerous testimonies were given before the Board of Education by Centennial students detailing their frustrations.
Renovations have been rescheduled numerous times, and with its current date slotted for 2036 set by Howard County’s 2026 fiscal plan, what once seemed like imminent progress is put on another hold.
Within Howard County’s proposed capital budget for the 2026 fiscal year, roughly $100 million was allocated by local and state funding to “create the best teaching and learning environment for students,” per Howardcountymd.gov’s proposed capital budget plan.
Centennial’s day-chief custodian for 17 years, Allen Anderson, helped spearhead one of the most significant improvements this past summer in phase one of reforming the HVAC system, which has not been touched since it was established.
“We took the units apart and replaced all the old stuff inside of the unit, all the mechanisms inside of the units with newer, modern stuff…everything’s digital,” Anderson said.
Typically, roof renovations are scheduled along with HVAC renovations because both areas are around the same age range of being replaced. That makes this an anomaly. Anderson notes that “they would have had to rent a crane to remove the penthouses from around the roof,” which is an expensive task, one currently beyond the school’s budget.
Howard County has recently taken a new approach to their prioritization of budget funding. Changes towards funding are changing from a political approach to an analytical one. “It’s all data driven by the state, and that’s when they start figuring out what counties need funding to do X, Y, and Z, what counties, what buildings are going to need renovations and rebuilding.” Anderson says. Factors such as age, population, and location are now going to be considered when determining funding, a turn in favor for Centennial.
This new approach is set to start in 2027, and it could offer hope for the future of the building. Given Centennial’s current state, it is likely that with data-driven analysis, the building could appear on the Board of Education’s radar as a location of urgency. Perhaps this new outlook could be the catalyst for a long-needed change to Centennial.
