Calvert County Public Schools presented a $223.8 million capital construction plan to the Board of Education this month, warning that a declining state funding share and rising construction costs are combining to leave the district further behind on aging buildings than in past years.
Shachita Warner, director of facilities management, told the board that the Fiscal Year 2028 Capital Improvement Program, which covers FY2028 through FY2033, includes 12 systemic renovation projects — mostly roof and HVAC replacements — plus three marquee construction projects, with an estimated state share of $105.4 million and a local share of $118.4 million.
Much of the pressure traces back to Calvert’s rapid growth in the 1990s, Warner said, which means a large share of the district’s building systems are aging out at the same time, requiring more simultaneous funding than the district has typically requested in past capital cycles.
State Share Shrinking
Maryland’s Interagency Committee on School Construction calculates each county’s cost-share based partly on relative wealth. For Calvert, that share is falling from 56% in fiscal years 2023 through 2026 to 54% in FY2027 and 51% in FY2028, pushing the county’s local share up to 49% — plus the county is responsible for 100% of any project contingency costs, such as change orders.
Board member Kelly Grinnis pressed Warner on the cause. “It is certainly our wealth that gives us lesser funding,” Warner replied, adding that Calvert isn’t alone in facing tighter state aid even as county officials say they don’t feel the “wealth” the funding formula assumes.
Beyond the shrinking percentage, Warner said the dollars the state does provide buy significantly less than they used to. The published construction cost per square foot, used to calculate state funding, has risen from $405 in FY2022 to $533 for FY2028. As a result, the roughly $5 million the district received in FY2022 could fund about 12,500 square feet of construction; a similar funding level today buys only about 7,540 square feet — even as the district maintains roughly 2.5 million square feet of school facilities districtwide.
“This truly represents a situation that’s not sustainable over the long term,” Warner told the board.
Marquee Projects and New Turf Request
The plan’s three largest projects are the completion of Northern Middle School, expected to receive its final round of local funding in FY2028 after the state fully funded its roughly $32 million share; the Calvert Elementary and Calvert Country co-located facility, which will complete design specifications in FY2028 ahead of construction from FY2029 through FY2031; and a rebuild of Mount Harmony Elementary School, with a feasibility study planned for FY2030 and construction from FY2033 to FY2034. Warner said the district anticipates using the existing Calvert Elementary building as temporary “swing space” for displaced Mount Harmony students during that project.
New to this year’s plan is an $11 million request — up from an earlier $10 million estimate after accounting for stormwater management requirements — to install artificial turf at all four high school stadium fields, beginning in FY2028. The plan also includes $3.75 million for parking lot paving and a continuing tennis court restoration line running through FY2030, on top of an already-underway Patuxent High School field house design.
Board member Ryan Harrison asked how locally funded projects that don’t require state approval get folded into the county’s overall budget process. Warner explained that the CIP is separate from the district’s operating budget but is combined with it when the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners approves its annual budget, with individual projects funded through a mix of bonds and pay-as-you-go county funds.
The capital plan is posted for a 30-day public review period and is expected to appear on the Board of Education’s consent agenda for formal approval at next month’s meeting, before moving into the county’s broader budget process.
