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Final P3 work‑group report urges feasibility study, warns state funding not guaranteed
Summary
A county work group recommended commissioning a comprehensive feasibility/value‑for‑money study (estimated $250,000–$400,000) to evaluate public–private partnerships for school construction, while presenters cautioned state funding would require new legislation and long-term commitments pose risks.
County and school officials presented the final report of a work group studying public–private partnership (P3) models for Calvert County Public Schools and recommended a comprehensive feasibility and value‑for‑money study funded locally.
Deputy county administrator Linda Turner and Shashida Warner, director of Planning and Construction for Calvert County Public Schools, summarized the work group’s findings. Warner described the most commonly used P3 model for K–12 as design‑build‑finance‑maintain (DBFM), where a private partner finances, designs and maintains facilities under long‑term contracts while the public owner retains control of educational operations.
Warner said the model can accelerate delivery and transfer lifecycle risk to private partners, but warned of higher private financing costs, the need for large packages (often $100 million or more to attract market interest), and political and regulatory risks. She said state participation under the current statute is not automatic: "State funding is not currently available per the statute," Warner said, adding that advancing a P3 with state support would require legislative change.
The work group identified schools with elevated facility condition indices and cited Northern Middle School, which already has Bill to Learn Act and state CIP funding in place. Warner said a feasibility study—estimated by presenters at $250,000–$400,000 and taking roughly six months—would identify candidate projects, run value‑for‑money analysis against traditional public financing, design stakeholder engagement, and outline legislative needs and funding commitments.
Commissioners asked about term lengths, handback FCI requirements (conditions at contract end), the potential for state funding participation and the risk of the county being left with long-term payment obligations if state support wanes. Presenters noted Prince George's County used Bill to Learn Act funds to enable its P3 packages but cautioned that secure, multi-level funding commitments are critical before moving forward.
The work group’s recommendation calls for a locally funded feasibility study and for the county and school district to consider the findings before deciding whether to pursue any P3 packages.
