PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Calvert County’s Board of County Commissioners signed onto the request to the state of Maryland for FY27 school construction funding at their Nov. 18 meeting, with the new Northern Middle School taking top priority.
Each fiscal year, the Board of Education (BOE) identifies the year’s capital improvement program requests and signs the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) letter of support to request state and local funding for those projects. The Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) establishes the criteria for calculating the State of Maryland’s participation in eligible costs associated with public school construction.
According to the memo from Danielle Russell, capital improvement projects and grants manager, the BOE has identified construction funding for the replacement of Northern Middle School as Priority 1, with a $2,952,787 state contribution. Other priorities identified are:
- Priority 2: The Sunderland Elementary School HVAC system project received local funding for design in FY 2024 ($61,800) and for construction in FY 2026 ($716,000).
- Priority 3: Provides design funding for the Calvert Elementary/Calvert Country project and for construction in FY 2026 ($716,000).
- Priority 4: Plum Point Middle School curtainwall and skylight replacement project received local funding in FY 2023 for design ($38,500) and FY 2025 for construction ($410,000).
According to the memo, the state share request for the projects is $4,982,979, and the local/county share request is $12,915,310. The BOE’s Capital Improvement Plan budget always includes both state and local financial support.
This is not a complete list of capital improvement projects for the year — only those in which state funding is being requested. Other projects that do not require state funding are not included in the letter.
Director of Planning and Construction Shuchita Warner said the Northern Middle School project is currently still on target to open for the 2026–2027 school year, and her team would likely have an update in January. Warner also said she was “90% certain” the state would meet their requests for priorities 1–3.
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