St. Mary’s Schools Shift Capital Plan To Keeping Buildings Open As State Funding Stalls

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — St. Mary’s County Public Schools officials say aging school buildings are outpacing available state construction funding, forcing the district to focus the next several years almost exclusively on replacing aging roofs and decades-old HVAC systems rather than making broader improvements to school facilities.

The Board of Education unanimously approved its 2026 Educational Facilities Master Plan on Wednesday, outlining capital improvement priorities through fiscal 2033. Director of Capital Planning Kimberly Howe described the plan as a roadmap for preserving aging infrastructure while warning that stagnant state funding is delaying major renovations and increasing the risk of systemic failures in building systems.

“We are only talking about keeping roofs on buildings and buildings air conditioned, dehumidified and operating,” Superintendent Scott Smith said. “We are stretching everything to the maximum and finding every available opportunity for external funding.”

Howe said the district recently completed an extensive review of every major roof, HVAC system and water system throughout the school system. The assessment found that many building components are nearing or exceeding their intended service lives, requiring careful planning simply to prevent failures that could disrupt classroom instruction for St. Mary’s County students.

“Our whole goal is to prevent system failures that impact students and the ability to go to school,” Howe said.

State Funding Changes Reshape Capital Planning

The district’s capital budget strategy has changed significantly as several state funding programs used for school construction have expired.

Howe said the Built to Learn Act, Healthy School Facility Fund and Aging Schools Program have all sunsetted, leaving school systems with fewer funding options for major building projects.

School officials had hoped the Nancy K. Kopp Public School Facilities Priority Fund would help replace some of that lost funding.

Instead, Maryland legislation directed $69 million of the program’s $70 million appropriation to seven Maryland jurisdictions. The remaining 17 counties, including St. Mary’s, will compete for the final $1 million.

“We were slightly disappointed this year, and that’s an understatement,” Howe said.

The district will continue receiving approximately $5 million annually in state school construction funding, but Howe said that amount is no longer sufficient to keep pace with rising renovation costs. She also noted that state funding is not expected to increase in the next five years.

Instead, the school system expects to rely heavily on locally funded projects approved by the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County to replace smaller building components and extend the life of aging systems until complete renovations can be afforded.

Equipment designed for roughly 30 years of service is already being pushed into its mid-to-late 30s, Howe said. Under current funding levels, some systems could remain in operation for more than 40 years before replacement funding becomes available.

“If we’re only getting $5 million a year, it may take us several years to collect enough state funding to move forward,” Howe said. “Something has to change at the state level.”

Smith echoed Howe’s concerns, saying the district’s capital planning is focused almost entirely on keeping buildings operational while struggling to secure enough funding to meet even those basic infrastructure needs.

“This is just for roofs and HVACs,” Smith said. “Miss Howe is completely right — something has to change.”

Howe warned that if funding trends continue downward, school systems across Maryland could begin experiencing widespread building failures.

“There are going to be systemwide failures,” Howe said. “There are going to be buildings that will not be able to open because the system failed.”

Repairs Planned Through 2033

The capital schedule approved Wednesday reflected the district’s maintenance-first approach.

Construction funding is planned next for the Chopticon High School multisystem renovation and Esperanza Middle School HVAC replacement in fiscal 2028.

Leonardtown High School’s HVAC renovation follows in fiscal years 2029 and 2030, with Town Creek Elementary School and Benjamin Banneker Elementary School roof and HVAC projects beginning shortly afterward.

Later phases of the plan include work at Ridge, Oakville, Mechanicsville and Lexington Park elementary schools, Leonardtown Middle School, Margaret Brent Middle School, Leonardtown Elementary School, the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center and Great Mills High School.

Rather than building renovations and system upgrades, nearly every project focuses on replacing roofs, heating and cooling systems or related mechanical equipment needed to keep schools operational.

White Marsh Elementary Not Mentioned in Capital Planning

One notable omission from the district’s six-year facilities schedule was White Marsh Elementary School.

The school was the subject of extensive discussion during the district’s recent redistricting process because of declining enrollment, aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance needs.

The Educational Facilities Master Plan did not include White Marsh among projects scheduled through fiscal 2033.

School officials did not discuss the omission during Wednesday’s presentation, although previous board discussions indicated White Marsh’s future status would continue to be evaluated as enrollment trends develop.

Federal Grants Could Ease Pressure

The district is also pursuing nearly $25 million in competitive federal grants for Esperanza Middle School.

One application seeks approximately $19.4 million to replace the school’s HVAC system through a military-connected schools program. A second application requests approximately $5.4 million for LED lighting and building envelope improvements through the Defense Community Infrastructure Program.

Neither grant requires a local funding match, although Howe said St. Mary’s is competing against school systems nationwide for those funds. Award decisions are expected later this year.

Enrollment Continues To Decline

The district also reported enrollment continues to decline, particularly at the elementary level.

Elementary schools enrolled 122 fewer students than projected during the 2025-26 school year and are expected to lose another 61 students this fall. Middle school enrollment is projected to remain relatively stable, while high schools are expected to continue declining as smaller elementary classes move through the system.

Howe said the trend is consistent with patterns seen throughout Maryland and across the country following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This decline is not something we’re feeling in St. Mary’s County. It’s statewide, it’s national,” Howe said. “It has been a national trend that has still not rebounded after COVID.”

The declining enrollment also means St. Mary’s County does not currently qualify for state-funded school capacity projects because student populations remain below the thresholds required to justify building additional classroom space.

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