Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) could be looking at reallocating funding from some upcoming projects, including those for early childhood center construction and elementary schools, to pay for other building construction currently underway, according to Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s proposed fiscal year 2026 capital budget.
Taylor presented his recommended budget and proposed amendments to the district’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP) to the school board Oct. 24. He recommended reallocating funding from several upcoming projects so the board doesn’t have to ask for additional local funding for current projects.
“I think you’re starting to see a theme here, … which is that we may be even taking a half step back so that we’re spending the money wisely,” Taylor told the school board when he presented his proposed budget for school facilities on Oct. 24. “Even some of the things that we may be pulling back from momentarily, we’re not pulling back from … we just want to make sure that they make sense.”
Following an MCPS staff mistake that led to the temporary loss of $39.3 million in state aid for the ongoing construction of Charles W. Woodward High School in Rockville, Taylor also proposed asking the County Council to provide an additional $21.6 million for the project.
MCPS has two annual budgets: the operating budget and the capital budget. The operating budget includes everything needed to operate schools, including pay for educators and staff and programming costs. The capital budget supports school construction and facilities projects alongside the district’s CIP, which is a six-year plan for facility projects. The district’s current plan covers 2025 to 2030.
The school board will hold public hearings on Taylor’s proposed 2026 capital budget and CIP recommendations at 6 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at 15 W. Gude Drive in Rockville.
The recommendations
Taylor recommended a total of $53 million in funding increases for the projects to build Crown High in Gaithersburg and a new building for Northwood High in Silver Spring as well as to finish construction at Woodward. He also recommended an increase of $4.5 million to address a backlog of heating and air-conditioning projects in MCPS facilities.
His proposal recommends an increase of $20 million for the upcoming Crown building in Gaithersburg to pay for the construction of the interior of the auditorium, classroom shells and a stadium. It also accounts for a $28 million increase for Woodward to finish that school’s auditorium and other spaces.
Earlier this year, the school board delayed the construction of auditoriums at Crown and Woodward until after the schools open due to budgetary shortfalls. Students from Northwood in Silver Spring are currently attending Woodward without an auditorium while Northwood is being rebuilt. Both Crown and Woodward are expected to officially open in August 2027.
Under his proposal, Northwood’s construction budget would increase by $5 million to upgrade amenities in the school’s existing stadium, including bleachers, lights and its field. The new Northwood building is also expected to open in August 2027.
To “minimize the need for additional local funds,” Taylor also recommended reallocating $36.5 million in placeholder funds for future early childhood center projects while the district finalizes its pre-kindergarten expansion plan to align with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. School districts are mandated to meet certain requirements, including expanding pre-K, under the Blueprint, the state’s 2021 education reform legislation.
He also recommended reallocating $12 million in placeholder funds from future elementary school projects. Taylor’s proposal calls for reallocating $3 million each from projects for these schools pending updated feasibility studies: Cold Spring in Potomac, Damascus, Twinbrook in Rockville, and Whetstone in Gaithersburg.
If approved, Taylor’s recommendation won’t impact the construction schedules for the elementary school projects, according to Esther McGuire, MCPS chief of staff. McGuire said the recommendation leaves planning funds available for the schools.
Taylor’s plan also includes reallocating $5 million from sustainability initiatives including projects such as solar panel installations and $4 million from the Building Modifications for Program Improvements Project to other CIP projects.
Spend wisely
When school board President Karla Silvestre asked why Taylor was proposing to reallocate funds from projects for sustainability and early childhood centers, he said he wanted to spend the money wisely.
“We don’t want to complete another project that’s half complete,” Taylor said. “We don’t want to complete another project that’s missing a wing of the building.”
Adnan Mamoon, deputy chief of new facilities management, said there was enough money left to continue current sustainability initiatives while the district takes a holistic approach to sustainability to ensure it is interwoven with all projects. For early childhood centers, McGuire noted Taylor’s recommendation does not impact funding allocated for an early childhood center at Burtonsville Elementary School.
Though MCPS is also facing a $39.3 million shortfall in funding for the ongoing construction of Woodward due to its state aid calculation errors in 2021, it won’t lose out on state funding in the long run, according to MCPS officials.
To close that funding gap, Taylor recommended that $17.7 million be reallocated from other district projects and that the school board ask the County Council to provide an additional $21.6 million for the project.
At the meeting, Taylor said the state aid error was “entirely MCPS’ fault” and apologized for the impact it will have on the Woodward project.
While Taylor is proposing that the board ask for more local funding to make up the shortfall, the request would not increase the proposed total expenditures in the 2025-2030 CIP. Without an increase in total expenditures, Taylor’s proposed budget is equal to the 2025-2030 CIP at $1.85 billion.
In addition to next week’s public hearings on the proposed capital budget, the board will hold a work session Nov. 8 and will take tentative action on the recommendations Nov. 21.
