The Board of Education recently unanimously approved Superintendent George Arlotto’s recommended $209.1 million FY2021 capital budget request which contains funding for nine major school projects, including the design of a new west county elementary school and a new Old Mill Middle School South.

The Board’s request is $43.2 million more than the Fiscal Year 2020 approved capital budget. It contains $3 million for the design of the elementary school, to be constructed on the west side of Route 3/301 in the vicinity of the Two Rivers community, and $4 million for feasibility study and design of a new Old Mill Middle School South, to be built on the current Southgate/Old Mill Park.

The request also contains nearly $139 million for the following major ongoing projects, in priority order:

• Edgewater Elementary School, construction ($5.6 million)
• Tyler Heights Elementary School, construction ($4.8 million)
• Richard Henry Lee Elementary School, construction ($4.4 million)
• Quarterfield Elementary School, design/construction ($18.4 million)
• Hillsmere Elementary School, design/construction ($15.2 million)
• Rippling Woods Elementary School, design/construction ($21.9 million)
• Old Mill West High School, construction ($68.4 million)

Also included is $9 million for full-day kindergarten and prekindergarten additions at Sunset and Van Bokkelen elementary schools, and $11 million for a classroom addition and cafeteria expansion at Arundel Middle School.

The Board also approved a six-year Capital Improvement Plan which allocates requested funding for projects through FY2026.

The plan will be submitted to the State of Maryland for funding consideration. The plan will also be part of the school system’s overall FY2021 budget request, to be forwarded to the County Executive in February 2020 after the Board holds additional public hearings. The County Council will review that plan and adopt a final capital budget for the school system by June 2020.