In a tight 7-4 vote on May 9, Montgomery County Council passed a controversial recordation tax rate increase that will fund capital projects across the county—one-third of it going toward school renovation projects.
The following is a breakdown of each major ongoing Montgomery County Public School construction project included in the school district’s current six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) budget, derived from school board records and ranked beginning with the least expensive.
Greencastle Elementary addition
Studies project that student enrollment at Silver Spring’s Greencastle Elementary will exceed the building’s capacity by 92 seats or more by Fiscal Year 2028, the end of the school district’s current planning period. This addition will add classrooms, staff areas, support rooms, a health services suite and additional spaces to increase the school’s total capacity. Planning began in 2017, but the project was delayed for two years by the County Council due to fiscal constraints. After its completion, the school’s capacity will increase to 747 seats.
Cost: $18.5 million
Projected completion date: August 2025
JoAnn Leleck Elementary at Broad Acres addition
Projections reveal that enrollment at JoAnn Leleck Elementary School at Broad Acres in Silver Spring will also exceed capacity by the end of the current planning period. Due to site limitations, officials say it would be difficult to expand the 71-year-old campus to meet the enrollment growth needs. Instead, MCPS conducted studies to see if nearby Cresthaven and Roscoe Nix elementary schools could be expanded to address Leleck’s space deficits.
However, due to “continued enrollment growth” at Leleck coupled with “the scope and cost of the additions” at the other two schools, MCPS ultimately decided to reallocate funds to create a new wing of the school building for students grade three through five enrolled at Leleck. The project was initially supposed to wrap up by September 2021, but due to fiscal constraints and “the impact on the construction industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” it has experienced delays.
Cost: $46.7 million
Projected completion date: August 2025
Burtonsville Elementary replacement
Burtonsville Elementary opened in 1952 and was renovated in 1993. It has a high rate of students eligible for Free and Reduced-price Meals (FARMS)—44 percent, according to MCPS records. Due to student enrollment at Burtonsville Elementary being projected to reach capacity by FY 2028, this project was originally intended to provide construction of a 10-classroom addition to the building. The school board later amended the project, changing the scope to relocate the school to another site rather than building an addition on the current site.
The school board originally requested the project be completed by August 2027, but due to fiscal reasons the County Council approved a completion date two years later. Once the school moves, officials say the old building may become available for other possible public uses.
Cost: $47.7 million
Projected completion date: August 2027
Crown High opening
To address overcrowding in high schools across the mid-county region, the school board requested funding to build a new high school in Gaithersburg, to be called Crown High. The building would be located at the northwest corner of Fields Road and Morrison Drive in the Crown area of the city.
The new school is expected to relieve overcrowding by at least 150 students at Quince Orchard High and at least 120 at Richard Montgomery, according to the school district’s CIP documents. The project has seen several delays since it was first approved in 2019 due to fiscal constraints and COVID-19 hardships.
Cost: $194.3 million
Projected completion date: August 2027
Charles W. Woodward High reopening
Located in North Bethesda near Rockville, Charles W. Woodward High School opened in 1966. Two decades later, its students were merged into nearby Walter Johnson High School and the building was closed. In 2019, the school board approved reopening the high school in a new building to address increasingly urgent space needs at Walter Johnson High and in Downcounty Consortium high schools.
The reopening project was introduced in 2019. Some County Council members have expressed concerns about what the school will and will not entail. Architects say the building will include gender-neutral bathrooms throughout the campus. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the current building served as a temporary campus for Tilden Middle School while its campus underwent renovations. Funds have been appropriated to the project by the school board in Fiscal Years 2021, 2022 and 2023, and additional funds are being requested in Fiscal Year 2024.
Cost: $196.1 million
Projected completion date: August 2026
Northwood High upgrade
In another attempt to address crowding in the Downcounty Consortium and specifically at Walter Johnson High, the school board approved a project to significantly expand Northwood High’s Silver Spring campus—adding approximately 1,200 seats for a total of 2,700. The expansion will require new classrooms, reconfigured spaces and building system upgrades.
During the project’s two-year construction period—expected to begin August 2024—MCPS plans to use the empty Charles W. Woodward building as a temporary holding site for Northwood students. The school board has appropriated funds to the project in Fiscal Years 2019, 2022 and 2023.
Cost: $203.1 million
Projected completion date: August 2026