Replacing a single high school's heating and cooling system now costs Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) $45 million to $55 million. A year ago, the district estimated $30 million to $35 million.
That 50% to 57% jump was laid out in a capital budget presentation MCPS administrators gave the Board of Education on Oct. 15, Moderately MOCO reported. Andrea Swiatocha, acting chief of the Division of District Operations, and Donald J. Connelly, director of the Department of Planning and Construction, delivered the presentation. The estimate covers one high school's full HVAC overhaul. The presentation slide does not name a specific school tied to either figure.
For Wootton cluster families, the presentation carries a second piece of news. MCPS wants to change how it does the work.
Instead of phasing an HVAC replacement over four to five years while students stay in the building, the district proposes finishing a full replacement in a single school year. The key: moving that school's students into swing space at the existing Thomas S. Wootton High School on Wootton Parkway.
That building becomes available once Wootton students and staff move to the $219.3 million Crown High School in Gaithersburg, still scheduled to open in August 2027. The Board of Education voted 7-1 on March 26 to relocate Wootton to the Crown building. MCPS's recommended capital plan names Springbrook High School as the first school to move into the old Wootton building for systemic improvements during the 2028-29 school year, followed by Sherwood High School in 2029-30, according to Moderately MOCO. Springbrook's HVAC replacement is listed as the No. 1 item on MCPS's state construction funding request, at $44.7 million.
The same presentation slide says the swing-space approach "also may be considered in future years for elementary and middle schools."
Rising costs squeeze the schedule
The cost increases are reshaping the district's six-year HVAC schedule. One example from the presentation: Takoma Park Middle School's HVAC project slipped from fiscal year 2028 to fiscal year 2030. A separate slide states the broader effect: "Cost increases are reducing scope of work in some projects; fewer HVAC projects can move forward."
The HVAC increase is part of MCPS's proposed amendments to its six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP), a $1.879 billion request. That is $25 million above the $1.854 billion the County Council approved in May, which represented 67% of the $2.78 billion the district had requested, Bethesda Magazine reported.
Parents describe failing systems
At an Oct. 26 public hearing on the capital budget, parents described what aging buildings mean day to day. Kim Glassman, parent of a student at Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville, told the board that "the AC randomly goes out, which has led to 86-degree classrooms during AP exams," Bethesda Magazine reported.
The backlog is enormous. MCPS is operating with an estimated $3 billion deferred maintenance backlog, WTOP reported in August.
Board President Grace Rivera-Oven acknowledged the scale of the problem. "We're putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound," she said of the building challenges MCPS faces. "This is an issue that did not just happen overnight."
Wootton relocation still contested
The swing-space plan hinges on Wootton's move to Crown. That decision remains under legal challenge. The Community and Education Policy Alliance Inc. (CEPA), a parent group, appealed the Board's vote to the State Board of Education, arguing the decision was "arbitrary, unreasonable and illegal," Bethesda Magazine reported. Evidentiary hearings before the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings are scheduled for Dec. 8, 9 and 10. No public record in the available sources addresses how an adverse ruling would affect the swing-space plan.
What comes next
The Board of Education is scheduled to hold its second work session on the capital budget amendments Nov. 2, with a possible third session Nov. 5. A third public hearing could follow Nov. 12. The board vote on the amendments is set for Nov. 19.
