Superintendent Presents FY2021 Capital Budget Proposals

September 11th, 2019

Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) Superintendent Dr. Michael J. Martirano presented his Proposed Capital Budget for school year 2020-2021 (FY 2021), FY 2022-2026 Capital Improvement Program and FY 2021-2030 Long-Range Master Plan during a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, September 10, 2019.

Based on information provided by the County for likely bond appropriations for HCPSS, two Capital Budget scenarios were presented. The first scenario reviewed an originally planned proposal based on last year’s Board decisions and the second took into account new projections by the county of approximately $41-47 million in capital funding for the school system. The proposals address projected student capacity and existing facility needs in order to relieve crowded schools and support rapid enrollment growth within the anticipated budget allocation.

The first scenario reviewed an originally planned proposal based on last year’s Board decisions and included the funding requests for the Talbott Springs Elementary replacement and Hammond High renovation and addition. It also requested funding to begin the planning for New ES#43 and the Dunloggin Middle renovation and addition as well as other construction projects. This scenario would have a total Capital Budget request of $135.7 million.

The second scenario proposes a $56 million Capital Budget, $399.6 million Capital Improvement Program and $775 million Long-Range Master Plan that prioritizes costs for construction of New High School #13, scheduled to open in September 2023. This project is scheduled to proceed as originally planned and is required because the combined capacity of all high schools will begin to exceed 110% utilization by 2022. Considering the available funding, the Superintendent recommended the second scenario. This recommendation changes the completion schedule for the Talbott Springs Elementary and Hammond High projects, originally scheduled for groundbreaking in June 2020 and October 2020, respectively. A commitment of funds would be needed by January 2020 and June 2020 in order to keep to the original schedule.

The lower than anticipated funding also impacts certain projects included in the Long-Range Master Plan and would be delayed from their original completion dates. The Long-Range Master Plan has been amended to reflect the bonding growth projected by the County budget office. This possibility was discussed with the County Council during the Council’s April 29 work session. The changes to the completion schedule would be as follows:

Talbott Springs ES replacement – from SY2022 to SY2027
Hammond HS renovation and addition – from SY2023 to SY2026
New ES#43 – from SY2024 to SY2028
Dunloggin MS renovation and addition – from SY2024 to SY2030
Oakland Mills MS renovation and addition – from SY2026 to SY2030
New ES#44 – from SY2026 to SY2031
Centennial HS renovation and addition – from SY2028 to TBD
New HS#14 from SY2028 to TBD
New ES#45 from SY2030 to TBD

The Superintendent’s presentation was immediately followed by a Board of Education budget work session. The Board has scheduled a public hearing on the FY 2021 Capital Budget and FY 2022-2026 Capital Improvement Program during its September 19, 2019, 7 p.m. meeting. Learn how you can provide testimony.