The Washington County Board of Education is creating a school for performing and visual arts that would serve the high school students in Washington County and our region. The Barbara Ingram School for the Arts will be modeled on the Baltimore School for the Arts. The City of Hagerstown accepted Vincent Groh's donation of the old Henry's Theatre building on S. Potomac Street for use as the Barbara Ingram School of the Arts in December of 2003.

The projected cost of this rehabilitation project is $10 million. State Senator Munson has helped to secure two in-state bond awards for this project. To assist in the Financing Plan for the Project and to also take advantage of the State Historic Tax Credits, the City of Hagerstown transferred ownership of the property to a private non-profit, the Hagerstown Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. (note: insert hyperlink here for HNDP) The bulk of the funding for construction is from a loan from the Bank of America. This loan will be repaid out of the BOE’s operating budget as lease payments.

The Building Analysis and feasibility study was completed in 2006. The feasibility study was funded by Community Legacy funds, a grant from the Hagerstown / Washington County Chamber of Commerce, and Board of Education funds.

Construction and renovations began in late 2007. The Board of Education anticipates that the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts will open in Downtown Hagerstown in the Fall of 2009. For more information contact Dr. Elizabeth Morgan's office at the Washington County Board of Education at 301-766-2816.