LEONARDTOWN, Md. — St. Mary’s County Board of Education heard a school utilization and redistricting presentation on April 23, 2025, outlining a plan that could launch major countywide school boundary changes, potentially leading to school closures and operational changes by the 2026-2027 school year (FY27).
The plan, introduced by Director of Capital Planning Kimberly Howe and Chief Operating Officer Michael Watson, requires several steps before any decisions are made.
Staff explained that with student enrollment remaining flat or declining, aging school buildings, and growing budget pressures, a comprehensive review is necessary to ensure resources are used more efficiently.
Closures of smaller schools with fewer than 300 students are under consideration.
“To move forward with the plan for looking at a redistricting option,” Howe said. “Things we have to consider as part of that would be consolidation of facilities to include some closures, potentially of smaller schools.”
Currently, four elementary schools in St. Mary’s County have enrollments of fewer than 300 students.
The district anticipates spending between $250,000 and $300,000 on a consultant team to support school boundary mapping, facility analysis, enrollment forecasting, and public engagement planning. Staff stated that outside expertise is necessary due to the complexity of a full countywide study and the limited internal resources available.
Board member Dr. J. Scott Smith emphasized the historic nature of what was presented. “We’ve never done a large redistricting of St. Mary’s County,” Smith said. “What we’ve done is construction projects that increased capacity for a particular site and then adjusted to accommodate that new site or neighborhood.”
What Changes Are Under Consideration
During the presentation, staff outlined several potential impacts of the redistricting and facility utilization study:
- Reduction in staffing: Possible reductions in teaching staff, including classroom teachers, specialists, and counselors, as well as support services staff such as food service workers, custodians, and secretaries.
- Closures of smaller schools: Elementary schools with enrollments under 300 students could be considered for consolidation or closure.
- Adjustments to school start times: Staff discussed aligning middle and high school schedules, which could result in students from both groups sharing transportation routes.
- Stricter enforcement of attendance zones: The district may tighten transfer waiver policies, limiting exceptions previously granted for daycare location or staff employment.
- Changes to specialty programs: Redistricting could affect access to programs such as world languages at high schools and school-based academies.
- Repurposing closed school buildings: Closed school facilities could be converted for administrative or operational use.
Board member Josh Guy stressed the need for extensive public input. “I think it’s important to emphasize that this is just the start of a process, and it’s going to be a very long process, and we’re going to get a lot of public input,” he said. “This is just the beginning.”
Tentative Timeline Presented for Redistricting and Facility Review
Spring–Summer 2025:
- Update Policy JCAA and Regulation JCAA-R (targeted for May–June).
- Begin a full analysis of facility utilization and enrollment.
- Review operating and capital expenses for all existing school facilities.
Fall–Winter 2025:
- Develop draft school boundary changes for Board consideration, including possible school closures.
Winter 2025-2026:
- Present draft redistricting plans during community engagement meetings across the county.
Spring 2026:
- Present final redistricting and facility plans to the Board of Education for a public hearing.
- Board of Education votes on final approval of the new boundaries.
- Notify families and students of any new school assignments.
2026-2027 School Year (FY27):
- Implement the approved redistricting plans and any facility changes beginning in fall 2026.
Board member Mary M. Washington warned of the challenges ahead. “We have a lot of challenges ahead, and it is going to be an emotional, tough year for the entire county because this is not an easy process,” she said.
The next Board of Education meeting, where updates to Policy JCAA will be introduced, is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
You can review the full April 23, 2025, presentation on SMCPS BoardDocs and watch the complete meeting discussion on the SMCPS YouTube channel below.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
Funny how not a single change is related to downsizing the board or the board member’s salaries. I have family and friends in SMCPS and the board has always been a bunch of nonsense. They’ll keep a photographer on payroll for over 6 figures a year but then complain about budget issues. They’ll consider cutting full on programs like at the tech center but not want to talk about their inflated salaries.
“Repurposing closed school buildings: Closed school facilities could be converted for administrative or operational use.”
Translation:
Increasing administrative (overhead) costs.
Ask for more of that money that the lottery, and legalized’ gambling was supposed to provide.
We can’t have that money because it needs to fund the Stadium Authority. Priorities, you know. :-/
I don’t think the decisions on what to close and how to redistrict are going to be all that hard, but they are going to be unpopular. Banneker to Brent to Chopticon. Evergreen to Esperanza to Great Mills. Close white marsh, maybe town creek. They’ll have to make unpopular decisions to stop the many waivers parents use to either attend a “better” school or accommodate childcare. I hope they also move the STEM focus to where the STEM kids are, in mid county, not south county where they’re obviously using those programs to give an artificial boost to south county test scores rather than address the problems there.
Why not piney point, tall Timbers and callaway? Why not make them go to great mills they are closer and it makes more sense.
No they want wildwood to go to great mills to improve test scores and even out the school.
I see no suggestion for reducing the Board of Education staff, which is bloated.
I really hope they don’t get rid of the daycare waiver. Daycare in this county is already hard enough to find that so many families can’t just hold out for one in their school district. Wait lists are long and before/after care at the school is not guaranteed either. I suggest leaving the waiver, or adding bus transportation from at least the major daycares in the county to more than just the school district that the daycare is in.
Absolutely ridiculous, how about taking the schools that are inundated with too many children (and numerous trailers to accommodate them) and sending them to the schools that have low enrollment. The answer isn’t to close schools it’s to reallocate who goes where. Reducing already overwhelmed staff, teachers and resource support is a recipe for disaster. Most of these employees already don’t get adequate compensation for their efforts and it’s definitely not enough to support them in this expensive county. Limited resources, limited pay, doing more with less … it’s hard to get and retain staff this way.