Baltimore City College students, staff and alumni packed into a hot boardroom Tuesday to support a proposal for students to use the University of Baltimore’s academic buildings as swing space during the high school’s renovation.

Baltimore City’s Board of School Commissioners approved the $9.8 million agreement with the university in an 8-1 vote. Roughly 100 people attended the contentious 3 1/2-hour evening meeting and burst into applause after the final vote.

Shantell Roberts, vice chair of the board of school commissioners, voted against the proposal, citing inequities between schools. She said she was “deeply troubled” by the proposal because of the perceived inequity of enhancing security at buildings used as swing space without a long-term plan to bring those safety measures to the district’s other 162 schools and programs.

The lease is “great for this school for right now, but what is the look ahead for the portfolio?” Roberts said after the meeting. “I’d like to know what plan is in place.”

Security has been scaled up at several schools with state funding for low-income schools provided by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state education reform, said Sonja Santelises, CEO of the Baltimore City School System.

City College is set to be renovated as part of the city’s 21st Century School building program, a $1.1 billion initiative to modernize 28 schools.

Other commissioners expressed concern that other high schools with planned renovations haven’t had the opportunity to be exposed to university campuses.

City College, which is highly ranked academically, is the third-oldest public school in the country. The building, known as the “Castle on the Hill” doesn’t have air conditioning and must close early when the weather gets too hot.

It will cost $9.8 million to add security and reconfigure the university’s business and academic center to create a kitchen, bathrooms and 30 classrooms. The lease will start next June and expire in August 2028. The annual rent is $1.

Kurt Schmoke, president of the University of Baltimore and a former mayor, offered to allow City College students to coexist on campus during the day since the majority of the university’s students take night classes. Schmoke, a City College alumnus, initially proposed the partnership during an alumni meeting about the renovation, he said.

“I try to be creative in addressing problems as they arise that the university can be involved with,” Schmoke told commissioners Tuesday as students held up signs calling for the proposal’s approval.

“We’ve worked very hard to make sure that we can deal with safety issues, academic issues, a whole wide range of problems that you can imagine,” Schmoke continued.

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Commissioners also considered using the former Thurgood Marshall Middle School in East Baltimore and the former Northwestern High School in West Baltimore as swing space.

Students at Western High School and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute are moving into Northwestern in 2026 and 2028 while their schools are under renovation.

Northwestern would need $24 million in construction to host schools over the next six years, including to install air conditioning.

Marshall’s building sat unused and in disrepair for years, district staff told the board. Classrooms, Wi-Fi and bathrooms would need to be repaired and upgraded.

City College students urged commissioners to pick the University of Baltimore plan. The university is located near City College, while many students would have a long commute to reach Thurgood Marshall or Northwestern.

“Sixteen percent of students would have a daily commute on public transit of more than three hours while 0% would have commutes as long to University of Baltimore,” said Charlie Martin, a City College student. “Not only is there an increased amount of time, but also a decreased amount of safety as students commute during the dark and cold winter months.”

University of Baltimore offers dual enrollment college credit to students at 18 high schools, more than other Baltimore universities, Santelises said. The district needs to maximize opportunities for students, she said, not hold back schools from investments that aren’t widely available yet.

“We have to expand opportunities while not leaving an opportunity on the table,” Santelises said.