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Facilities master plan maps five capacity and replacement projects amid statewide funding uncertainty
Summary
The district presented its 2025 Educational Facilities Master Plan outlining five priority capacity and replacement projects, enrollment projections and systemic renovation needs, alongside discussion of funding uncertainties at the state and county levels.
Washington County Public Schools staff presented the 2025 Educational Facilities Master Plan (EFMP), an annually updated roadmap of facility conditions, enrollment projections and proposed capital projects for the next decade.
The EFMP compiles facility inventories, community development analyses, enrollment projections and a proposed 10‑year capital schedule. Presenters said the district owns and operates nearly 1,100 acres and roughly 3.5 million square feet of building space; the plan uses a cohort‑survivorship method for enrollment projections and coordinates with the Maryland Department of Planning and Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC).
Staff outlined five major projects prioritized in the plan: Downsville Pike Elementary School (a replacement four‑section school with 688 seats, planned to open for the 2027–28 school year; estimated cost about $51 million and funded by a mix of state CIP, Built to Learn Act dollars and local funds), a phase‑2 addition at Jonathan Hager Elementary that would add roughly 400 seats (estimated cost about $24 million), a Clear Spring Middle‑High School renewal/replacement project (approximate 238,000 square feet and capacity for 1,500 students; estimated cost ~$147 million), and two future elementary consolidation/replacement projects (each similar in size to Downsville Pike, staggered openings in the early‑to‑mid 2030s, estimated $50–52 million each).
For Downsville Pike staff said state funding would include Built to Learn Act payments and the state CIP; presenters noted the board approved a tri‑party memorandum of understanding related to that project and said the Board of County Commissioners and the Maryland Stadium Authority approved the MOU at their meetings the same day.
The plan also details systemic renovation priorities (roofs, HVAC, boilers, life‑safety systems) and an annual preventive‑maintenance approach. Staff described the district’s current enrollment trajectory as mostly flat with modest elementary growth and projected net growth of roughly 1,000–1,300 students over the next 10 years, but warned projections may change with new housing starts and demographic shifts.
Board members questioned feasibility given current state budget pressures and the scale of local contributions to large projects. Staff emphasized the need to document facility needs so state and county partners can consider funding and acknowledged that construction costs have risen significantly in recent years. The EFMP will be submitted to the IAC by June 30 and will underpin the district’s five‑year capital request to the county in September. Staff said they will return with refined schedules, cost updates and any required redistricting proposals as projects advance.
No formal board vote was recorded during the presentation; the EFMP is an informational plan that the board will include in its upcoming CIP request.
