MCPS work session recommends SIMS closure, Sligo Creek replacement and detailed transition planning

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) board on Nov. 4 considered staff recommendations that Silver Spring International Middle School (SIMS) be removed from the district's permanent school portfolio and that Sligo Creek Elementary be replaced at a new site. Andrea Swiatoka, deputy chief of facilities, told the board the combined SIMS/Sligo Creek facility has "ongoing significant work order issues related to HVAC, electrical, plumbing, both the domestic lines as well as roof leaks," and staff "feel that it has reached its end of its useful life as a permanent school."

Why it matters: staff say the decision is driven by three facts the board must weigh together — a poor facility condition driven by decades of additions, a countywide drop in enrollment, and a lack of adequate swing space that would allow a full on-site replacement without extensive, multi-year phased occupancy. Costs shown at the session are preliminary and relate to construction only: a major capital project for the SIMS portion alone was estimated at about $145 million in FY27 dollars (rising to an estimated ~$215 million by FY35 because of escalation). A combined replacement for both SIMS and Sligo Creek was shown at roughly $240 million in FY27 dollars and $350 million in FY35 dollars.

What staff proposed and the constraints: staff described SIMS as a…