Montgomery County Public Schools will park buses at its own non-school properties in the 2027-28 school year. Every district bus depot is over capacity.

The district disclosed the space shortage at a Board of Education work session on Oct. 15, as Moderately MOCO reported. "ALL current transportation depots are operating exceeding capacity," a presentation slide stated.

The squeeze matters for Potomac families. One previously planned depot site was Wootton ES Site #7, a 12-acre property on Cavanaugh Drive in Rockville that the board has long held for a future elementary school. Neighbors organized against a bus depot there, and their group, No Bus Depot, says more than 1,500 people signed its petition. In the new recommended capital plan, Site #7 appears only on the list of board-owned future school sites.

At the Oct. 15 session, a board member asked whether the two previously identified depot sites were still planned. "This recommendation does unspecify those two projects," an MCPS staff member said, according to the board's webcast. "We are no longer saying those are the specific two sites, but I would also caution that we are saying we are looking at all the sites," the staff member added, noting the two original sites remain under consideration.

Staff said MCPS has hired a real estate consultant to search for commercial sites. "We are literally out of space," staff said.

Fleet growing, Shady Grove closing

The bus fleet must grow "at least in the short term" to support grandfathering students during boundary and program changes, the presentation stated. That means students allowed to stay at their current schools while new boundaries phase in. At the same time, the county expects MCPS to vacate its Shady Grove depot.

The county is paying to move about 250 buses from Shady Grove to leased sites in Rockville. County Executive Marc Elrich asked the Montgomery County Council for an additional $15.5 million for that relocation, bringing the total to $31.56 million. Last year's estimate was $16.06 million.

The Council was scheduled to introduce Elrich's request on Oct. 27 but postponed it, according to the Council's session summary.

Permanent fix years away

MCPS wants permanent regional transportation facilities, but funding for planning and design was deferred to fiscal year 2030. The district's project table shows $40 million spread across three fiscal years: $5 million in 2030, $15 million in 2031 and $20 million in 2032.

MCPS said it would review possible depot locations "in the context of all Board-owned properties and in the context of the closure and consolidation portfolio review." As we reported Oct. 29, MCPS is studying possible school closures and consolidations. The board is scheduled to vote on closures in April 2027.

The Board of Education votes on capital budget amendments that include the transportation projects on Nov. 19.