Caroline County Public Schools presented the first reading of its FY27–31 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), reporting 35 FY27 requests that total $96,010,335 and 89 requests across FY27–31 totaling $160,869,609. The board reviewed priorities identified by the CIP advisory committee and discussed the divisions structural funding constraints.

Christopher Caldwell, supervisor of facilities and maintenance, walked the board through historical funding and the divisions submitted FY27 requests. He reported that CCPS has historically received under $1 million per year in county-funded CIP awards outside large one-time projects and that FY26 yielded no county-funded infrastructure awards for many requests. "CCPS was awarded a total of $979,862 for the FY 26 CIP budget," Caldwell said, noting that represents only about 2% of total requests.

The presentation highlighted new compliance and mandate drivers that increase cost: the division must report facility upgrades required to meet current ADA standards by Nov. 1, 2025 under recently enacted House Bill 2278; staff provided a preliminary estimate of at least $9.9 million to address those items across buildings. Staff also flagged House Bill 2618 (indoor air quality) requiring mandatory HVAC inspections, testing, balancing and corrective measures, with a district estimate of roughly $750,000 for the first phase of IAQ work.

The CIP request includes a wide range of projects aligned to the district strategic plan: ADA access to sports fields, elevator modernizations at both secondary schools, division-wide sidewalk improvements, replacement of eight school buses, stadium and turf investments, classroom renovations (cosmetology/greenhouse), and deferred maintenance from the 2024 facility assessment.

Board members expressed concern about the large gap between identified needs (roughly $50M in top priorities as discussed in the meeting) and historically awarded county funding (normally under $1M per year). One board member urged collaboration with the Board of Supervisors, regional partners, and grant-seeking strategies, and the superintendent suggested joint work sessions to align county and school priorities.

What it means: The CIP first reading surfaces large, multi-year capital needs driven by deferred maintenance, statutory ADA and IAQ obligations, and growth-related projects; the board will refine priorities ahead of the second reading and submission to the county.

Next steps: The CIP committee will reconvene Dec. 3; the board will hold a second reading Dec. 8 and, if approved, submit the CIP to the county on Dec. 9 for county review and possible inclusion in the county CIP process.