Board sends July 2025 educational facilities master plan to state; district reshuffles Chopticon funds to accelerate other projects

The Saint Mary's County Board of Education voted to submit its July 2025 Educational Facilities Master Plan to the state, detailing the district's proposed projects for the 2027-2032 capital-improvement cycle and explaining how multiple funding sources will be combined to deliver work.

Why it matters: the master plan is the channel by which local project requests compete for state funding administered by the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC). The board discussed ways to maximize the district's state and grant funds to advance multiple high-priority projects.

Key items presented: the district explained a strategy to advance the Chopticon High School project (asbestos abatement and roof replacement) using $13.5 million in remaining Built to Learn Act funds plus a recently awarded $6.8 million Healthy Schools Fund grant for Chopticon asbestos and roof work. That combination leaves an estimated $2.1 million gap of traditional state CIP funds to complete the state share of Chopticon for FY27, the presentation said.

To take advantage of available state funding this year, district staff said they plan to request the state apply some of the funds that had been destined for Chopticon to expedite other needs. With the additional Healthy Schools funding, the district announced it would advance the Esperanza Middle School HVAC systemic renovation (state request includes $5.6 million for FY27) and accelerate a Leonardtown High School chiller project so the chiller becomes state-eligible rather than being locally funded.

The district also described pursuing a decarbonization grant from the Maryland Energy Administration and other targeted funding streams. Presenters noted that the state's annual rolling average allocation for school construction remains approximately $5,000,000 for the district and that statewide need exceeds available funding.

Board action: a board member moved to approve submission of the July 2025 Educational Facilities Master Plan to the IAC; the motion was seconded and carried.

Context and constraints: presenters warned the board that the IAC is finalizing a new priority-fund scoring system (sometimes referenced as the Nancy K. Kopp/Nancy Popp priority fund replacement for the Healthy Schools Fund) that will score projects based on remaining useful life and other criteria. District staff said the scoring approach shifts the timing toward projects that have reached or exceeded expected life cycles and expressed concern about the risk of waiting until failure to qualify for funding. "The higher the score you have, which means when they look at the remaining useful life, how long have you gone beyond the time it was supposed to?" a district planner said during discussion.

Next steps: with the board's approval, the master plan will be sent to the IAC for review; district staff will continue to pursue grants and coordinate with county funding partners to secure the local share and try to accelerate projects where state and grant timing allows.