SMCPS work session: district will monitor enrollment; White Marsh Elementary flagged as potential closure if declines continue

Canon Design presented redistricting analysis at the St. Mary's County Board of Education work session on Feb. 4, recommending the board monitor enrollment for two years while keeping a closure of White Marsh Elementary as a possible long-term option if declines persist.

Canon Design reported two rounds of community surveys and described community priorities: program quality over proximity, maintaining neighborhood continuity and minimizing the number of families affected by moves. The consultant said Survey 2 drew 2,340 responses and that over 5,000 combined responses across surveys and more than 600 meeting attendees gave the team a substantial public record to build options from.

Two districtwide elementary/middle options and one option that would close White Marsh emerged as leading candidates. Canon's analysis showed Option 1 (balanced utilization) would affect roughly 34% of elementary students and 17% of middle-school students; Option 3 (close White Marsh) would affect about 36% of elementary students and 17% of middle-school students. Canon estimated that closing White Marsh could yield roughly $1,200,000 in recurring annual savings in administrative costs, while preserving student instructional positions by moving teachers with students.

Staff and consultants outlined capital and operating figures for White Marsh that the board requested. Canon and district staff said deferred-maintenance work at White Marsh would run at least about $4,000,000; a comprehensive renovation approaching current educational standards could total nearly $17,000,000; and temporary "swing-space" work for relocation would be roughly $9,000,000. Board members asked for a detailed breakout of those figures and a site tour to see ADA and facility limitations firsthand; staff said those breakouts exist and can be provided.

The presentation emphasized housing and enrollment dynamics. Canon reported the county's historic student-yield assumption of 0.476 students per housing unit but found a study yield closer to 0.37 students/unit in known subdivisions. Based on those yields, the consultant estimated that roughly 10,700 new housing units would be needed to fill a new high school, nearly 12,000 to justify a middle school and about 3,000 to justify a new elementary school—figures the presenters said would require concentrated new-family growth rather than intra-county migration.

Officials stressed the political and emotional sensitivity of any school closure. Superintendent Smith (as named in the transcript) told the board that closing a school would be unprecedented for SMCPS without simultaneously building a replacement and that the district must remain transparent and deliberative. "White Marsh is an incredible school," the superintendent said, while also noting the fiscal pressures that informed the recommendation to monitor and plan for closure if needed.

SMCPS's short-term recommendation to the board was "no action" at the elementary and middle-school level for 2026-27, with continued monitoring of enrollment and a final determination about closing a school required no later than March 2028 to permit a 2028-29 closure if the board ultimately decides to proceed. Staff reiterated public-timeline milestones: a public hearing on Feb. 18, an interim presentation on March 4 and the superintendent's final recommendation to the board on March 18; the district must notify any impacted families by April 30 if boundary changes are adopted.

What happens next: the board will receive the final printed report from Canon Design on March 4, ask for the detailed cost breakout and facility tour requested by members, and consider the superintendent's recommendation at the March 18 meeting. No formal closure vote or binding action was taken at the Feb. 4 work session.

Sources and attributions: quotes and figures are taken from the Canon Design presentation and SMCPS staff remarks at the Feb. 4 work session. Figures cited in this article (survey response counts, cost ranges, housing-yield estimates and the $1.2 million annual savings estimate) were presented verbatim by Canon Design and SMCPS staff during the meeting.