Harper Demonstration High School Relocates to Temporary Facility Amid Renovation Delay

By Rocheford T. Gardiner

HARPER, Maryland County, September 22, 2025-Students of Harper Demonstration High School are back in class after their September 9 street protests successfully prompted the resumption of halted renovation work on their main campus. However, they have been relocated to a temporary facility to allow the academic year to proceed.

Since September 16, the school has been operating out of a building at Wah-Hohdoe Town, a western suburb of Harper. The facility was provided by the Cape Palmas Catholic Diocese, headed by Bishop Andrew Kanley.

Principal Emmanuel Y. Dennis stated they had to accept the Bishop’s offer as students had already lost two weeks of the new academic calendar. “We had no option but to accept the kind offer of the Bishop,” he said.

Mr. Dennis added that the move was made possible through community support. Gabriel Tarpeh, a local construction company owner, provided a truck to transport benches from the main campus, while Pastor J. Jason Carl of the Jireh Solid Faith Foundation Church supplied six chalkboards.

Despite these gestures, the temporary building, which had been largely unused, presents significant challenges. It lacks basic infrastructure, including adequate restroom facilities, doors, and locks. The principal also lamented the difficult travel for students and staff, as the new location is much farther for many than the centrally located main campus.

Work is steadily progressing on the school’s renovation, but Mr. Dennis could not provide a specific timeline for its completion.

The renovation project, executed by the Dorbor Foundation at the school’s request, was recently at the center of a heated controversy. Shortly after the work began, Maryland County Superintendent Henry Cole issued a stop order, citing “breaches of protocol.”

The move drew sharp criticism, with detractors accusing Cole of acting on behalf of Harper District Representative P. Mike Jurry. They claim Jurry views the foundation’s head, Dorbor Bedell, as a potential political opponent for the district seat in the 2029 elections.

Supporters of Representative Jurry have countered, accusing Bedell of using his philanthropy to influence voters ahead of the general elections.

Amidst all the commotion, it is the students that suffer the brunt of the stress and strain–from being forced to lose two weeks, conduct street protests before they could have some intervention, and now having to commute to the back of the city.