County Executive Marc Elrich proposed $6.6 billion in investments for facilities and infrastructure in Montgomery County, including the largest-ever Capital Improvements Program funding for schools.
Elrich’s fiscal year 2027 capital budget and FY 2027-2032 CIP is $634.1 million more than the last-approved CIP.
During his presentation in Rockville on Thursday, Elrich said, “the big things are really education and transportation,” both of which he said are key to economic development.
He is not fully funding the school system’s request, Elrich said — “they know we don’t have that kind of money.”
In the largest-ever recommended funding for Montgomery County Public Schools, Elrich proposed more than $2.1 billion, $380 million more than the last-approved CIP. It is 87% of the school board’s request for academic facilities.
Elrich said now that MCPS enrollment is declining, the county can focus more on repair issues rather than capacity issues.
“For years, one of the reasons we didn’t do repairs is the bulk of money was spent on capacity, because the biggest struggle in the county was growing population and the need for more capacity in the school system,” he said.
Now, enrollment is declining, and that trend is projected to continue. “The good news about that is that allows us not to deal with capacity issues and start focusing on repair issues,” Elrich said.
The CIP includes infrastructure for HVAC and roofs as well as school construction projects:
- Completing construction of Burtonsville Elementary School
- Reopening Woodward High School
- New Crown High School
- Rebuilt Northwood High School
- JoAnn Leleck Elementary School
It does not support projects related to the proposed closure of Silver Spring International Middle School.
Along with record funding for MCPS, Elrich proposed the largest-ever funding for Montgomery College at $445.3 million, which is $34.9 million more than the last capital budget that was approved.
Elrich proposes $2.3 billion in funding for transportation infrastructure for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) expansion, highway maintenance, pedestrian facilities and bikeways, traffic improvements, bridges, parking and roads.
Following this capital budget presentation, Elrich will present his proposed operating budget in March. County council public hearings are planned for February. The council will approve the budgets in May.
“The Council will now begin a holistic review process, strategically assessing short-term needs and long-term priorities in the County,” said County Council President Natali Fani-González in a written statement.
“We must balance investments in capital projects to support our schools, housing, economic development, public safety and transportation,” she stated. “And we must do this with fiscal prudence and sustainability as our north star. We look forward to hearing from community members and encourage robust public input as we take up the budget process.”
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