The need for expanded classroom space to meet a growing enrollment and escalating construction costs is reflected in the Recommended FY 2002 Capital Budget and Amendments to the FY 2001-2006 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for Montgomery County Public Schools.

Because FY 2002 is the second year of a biennial budget process, the recommendations submitted by Superintendent Jerry D. Weast to the Board of Education on October 27 do not include any new initiatives. They do, however, support one new project - reopening of the Connecticut Park Center as an elementary school for the Wheaton Cluster, an increase of one gymnasium over the County Council-approved six-year budget, and a new boundary study to address overcrowding at Rachel Carson Elementary School.

The recommendation totals $166.7 million for the FY 2002 Capital Budget, an increase of $36.4 million over the Approved FY 2002 Capital Budget. The recommended expenditures for the six-year Capital Improvements Program from FY 2001-2006 total $762.5, an increase of $107 million over the adopted CIP for that time period.

The amendments included in this year's request almost exclusively reflect increases due to rising construction costs in the Washington metropolitan area and funding requests for projects in the feasibility planning stage last year that now require planning or construction funding.

The next six years will continue to be marked by a need for a significant expansion in school classroom space necessary to serve an enrollment that will reach more than 140,000 students by 2006, an increase of more than 6,000 students over this year.

At a minimum, enrollment growth will necessitate adding 332 new classrooms to existing facilities, building or opening six new schools, initiating the planning to add another 44 classrooms at five more schools, as well as leasing 50 additional relocatable classroom units for September 2001 to accommodate enrollment growth.

Highlights of the recommended amendments to the FY 2001-2006 CIP are:

o Additional funding totaling $102.1 million is requested for the nine projects that were in the feasibility planning stage last year. The County Council included $36.8 million in the adopted FY 2001-2006 CIP for Future and Upcounty Solution Projects that are intended to be used to offset the impact on the nine capacity projects. The offset of the $36.8 million will make the effective amount of the recommended increase for additional capacity projects $65.3 million for the amended FY 2001-2006 CIP.

o To accommodate the growth in enrollment, the amendments include additions to 33 schools and the opening of six new schools. Three of these six schools have received planning and construction funding in the adopted FY 2001-2006 CIP, two were approved for feasibility planning, and onereopening the Connecticut Park Center as the sixth elementary school in the Wheaton Clusteris requested for feasibiity planning in FY 2002.

o Nonresidential construction costs in the Washington area are up 7 percent over the same period last year. Therefore, bids for many projects have substantially exceeded recent cost estimates. This recent bid experience is reflected in the recommended FY 2002 capital budget and amendments to the FY 2001-2006 CIP. For example, the recommended modernization program maintains the approved schedule, which calls for modernizing two middle schools every three years by the end of the six-year period, but is approximately $18.2 million more than the adopted FY 2001-2006 CIP because of construction cost increases due to market conditions.

o Funds are being requested to construct three gymnasiums for FY 2002 at Lakewood, Greenwood, and Dr. Charles R. Drew elementary schools. This recommendation, which follows the November 1999 request of the Board, represents an increase of one gymnasium over the County Council-approved FY 2001-2006 CIP. Also, FY 2002 planning funds are recommended to begin the planning for three more gymnasiums to be constructed in FY 2003. Overall, the County Council approved funding last year to construct 11 gymnasiums in the six-year FY 2001-2006 CIP.

o To continue the planned implementation of class-size reduction initiatives, a recommendation has been made to move the relocatable units that will become available from schools completing modernization or addition projects to those schools that will receive the additional staffing for full-day kindergarten and grades 1-2 class size reduction programs.

o A new boundary study is recommended for spring 2001 to explore options to address overcrowding at Rachel Carson Elementary School in the Quince Orchard Cluster. Recommendations in boundary changes to address overcrowding at Dr. Sally K. Ride Elementary School and establish boundaries for the new Northwest Elementary School #6 were already forwarded to the Board October 18 and will be reviewed in a November 8 work session.

The Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the recommended FY 2002 Capital Budget and amendments to the FY 2001-2006 CIP November 15 and 16 before taking action on the capital budget and CIP amendments November 28. The process includes County Council review, evaluation by county agencies, recommendations by the County Executive and further Council hearing and work sessions before the County Council adopts the capital budget and CIP amendments in May 2001.