St. Mary’s commissioners approve school CIP submission after lengthy funding debate

The Commissioners of St. Mary—ounty voted Sept. 23 to sign the Board of Education—Y2027—Y2032 State Capital Improvements Program (CIP) request for submission to the Interagency Commission on School Construction, after a detailed presentation on facility needs and funding options.

The school system's finance and facilities staff told the commissioners the county faces a backlog of roofing, HVAC and "water in and out" projects and that projected state funding of roughly $5 million annually will not meet local needs. The Board of Education recommended advancing Chopticon High School as the county's top state-funded project and accelerating other projects, including repairs at Esperanza Middle School and a chiller replacement at Leonardtown High School.

County and school officials said several state funding sources are being combined to complete large projects. Presenters said Chopticon's total state-eligible request will be funded with a combination of traditional CIP allocations, the Built to Learn Act and the Healthy Schools Fund, and that the county plans to use local funds to meet remaining local shares. Staff estimated the Built to Learn allocation for Chopticon at roughly $12 million and noted an outstanding local share of about $27.9 million for the project.

Commissioners and staff discussed the timing and mechanics of state allocations, the risk of reduced state allocations in future years, and the county's bonding capacity. Staff said the state's current planning allocation averages about $5 million per year, that the state's percentage for eligible projects was confirmed at 58% for FY27 and FY28, and that projects large as Chopticon could take multiple years of state allocations if not supplemented by other state or local sources. Finance staff also said shifting project schedules could affect the county's bonding authority and require further adjustments to the county budget.

After questions about enrollment, relocatable classrooms and project phasing, the board president moved that the commissioners sign the letter of support for the FY2027—Y2032 State CIP as approved by the Board of Education. The motion passed; commissioners voted aye with one commissioner recording a no vote.

The county will submit the CIP to the Interagency Commission on School Construction by the October 6 deadline; staff said IAC recommendations typically follow with a 75% recommendation in December and final approvals in the legislative session.

The discussion included these numerical clarifications provided by presenters: the county's rolling state allocation target is approximately $5,000,000 per year; Chopticon required approximately $35,000,000 in earlier estimates with other funding sources reducing the county share; the local share of Chopticon was cited at roughly $27.9 million; the Board of Education noted a remaining state contribution need of about $15.6 million for Chopticon before applying Built to Learn funding; and staff said the county faces an estimated shortfall of about $2,099,717 in local funding for FY27 under the current plan.

County and school staff said they will continue to pursue competitive grants (for example, decarbonization and Healthy Schools funds) and to coordinate with state agencies and the legislative delegation to maximize state participation. The commissioners asked county finance staff to analyze bonding implications and report back.

The presentation and vote set the county's formal FY2027 state CIP submission and the schedule for further deliberation at upcoming meetings and the joint delegation meeting on Oct. 7.