Dr. McCabe, a school system staff member, told a joint meeting of the Carroll County Board of Education and the Carroll County Commissioners that the two planned projects — additions at Freedom Elementary and Sykesville Middle — are fully designed but that “conditions have changed since the board made the decision to move forward with additions.” The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the capital improvement project (CIP) at its October meeting, she said, and staff sought a candid discussion with commissioners before construction begins.

Why it matters: the projects would add capacity and pre-K classrooms in parts of south Carroll County, but higher local costs and a turn in enrollment trends have reduced the school system’s expected state participation and increased the county’s share of the bill.

Most immediate cost change is at Freedom Elementary. System staff explained that a new sprinkler requirement triggered a cascade of work: low water pressure at the site requires a fire pump; the pump requires connection to an emergency generator; the generator itself must be upsized and integrated with the site systems. That chain of requirements increased local project costs by about $1,300,000, staff said. The planned Freedom additions would also house students now in six relocatable classrooms on site, and site constraints — limited acreage, tight traffic and parking, and required grading and retaining walls — complicate construction and daily operations.

At Sykesville Middle, staff said the overall project scope has not changed but that recent enrollment declines have lowered the state’s expected share of funding. Staff reported earlier state participation estimates near $10.3 million; under current projections and conditional assumptions about boundary moves and an as-yet-unapproved waiver for square footage, the best-case state-participation scenario they cited would reduce that estimate to about $7.1 million. If the county cannot justify needed square footage or if adjacent boundary adjustments do not occur, the county’s required contribution would rise further, staff said.

Enrollment and state rules are central to the discussion. Staff presented updated, unofficial enrollment figures three weeks into the school year showing a downward trend after two recent years of decline; they cautioned the official state counts are certified later (Sept. 30 for total enrollment, Oct. 31 for selected student categories). Those updated numbers showed as many as 300 seats becoming available in the southern region compared with the projections used when the Board of Education first approved the additions. Staff said those shifts “will certainly affect what the state gives for aid to the schools,” particularly for Sykesville.

Board members, commissioners and staff discussed alternatives that could reduce immediate capital spending: limited redistricting or targeted adjacency moves, delaying construction and using relocatable classrooms and existing space in the short term, or rethinking where pre-K classrooms are provided. Commissioners and board members also raised the long-term question of Freedom’s suitability: the site is smaller than modern guidelines (staff noted modern elementary sites typically begin at about 15 acres, while Freedom’s site is roughly half that), and some participants argued the school should be on a site-replacement track rather than repeatedly modernized.

Staff emphasized the projects are affordable from the county’s perspective if the boards choose to proceed, but they framed the current decision as a question of timing and priorities given the competition for limited CIP dollars and the state’s constrained funding levels. As staff put it, the timing was chosen to ensure “a meaningful conversation” before the Board of Education’s October action.

Next steps: the Board of Education is scheduled to take formal action on the CIP in October; commissioners did not take a formal vote during the joint meeting but were asked to discuss APFO (Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance) implications, potential boundary options, and options for phasing or pausing construction. Several board and county members proposed pausing to review official enrollments and to explore alternatives; others said pausing risks deferring needed repairs and modernizations.

Sources: the school system referenced its Educational Facilities Master Plan, feasibility studies completed in early 2022, the school system’s September CIP summary, and ongoing conversations with the state interagency and waiver consultants.

Taper: staff said the design funds already spent would be sunk cost if construction were postponed, but that delaying construction would allow the boards to reassess state aid, enrollment trends and other capital priorities before committing county capital to construction.