Planning commission agrees to sign letter seeking priority funding-area status for North High campus

The Caroline County Planning Commission voted to sign and transmit a letter requesting that the North High campus be designated as a Priority Funding Area (PFA), a step staff said will help make the project more competitive for state infrastructure and construction funding.

County planning staff and a school-district representative described the project as a major high-school construction program with an estimated total cost of roughly $85–90 million. A district official told commissioners that, if funding and approvals align, the district could open the new facility as early as August 2029.

Planning staff explained that adding the site to the PFA layer maintained by the Maryland Department of Planning would help state funding agencies find and prioritize the project during grant and capital-allocation reviews. Staff said the request would be forwarded to the state by letter and copied to commissioners; the designation itself remains subject to state review and approval.

Commissioners debated whether to seek PFA designations for additional school sites but agreed to move forward now with the North High request. A motion to sign the letter passed on a voice vote.

Next steps: planning staff will send the request to the Maryland Department of Planning and follow up with the school district and state agencies as the PFA layer is updated.