The Carroll County Board of Education could approve or reject designs on Wednesday for construction plans to move forward at Sykesville Middle and Freedom, Elmer Wolfe, Robert Moton, Runnymede, Spring Garden, Westminster, and William Winchester Elementary Schools.

Additions at Sykesville Middle and Freedom Elementary are intended to be a first step in addressing overcrowding in the southern Carroll County schools. Additions at the other six elementary schools will be the first phase of the county’s prekindergarten addition project. Prekindergarten programs in Carroll County will nearly double in scope by 2028, according to Carroll’s plan to implement the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a multibillion-dollar education reform law in the third year of a decadelong rollout. Freedom Elementary’s addition would include one prekindergarten classroom.

Each elementary school project is projected to be completed in 2027. Construction at Sykesville Middle School is expected to be finished by the start of the 2028 school year, according to construction documents.

Construction at all schools is set to start in June of 2026.

The Freedom Elementary project will add five classrooms at a cost of about $7.8 million. The Sykesville Middle project will cost about $19.1 million, adding 14 classrooms, according to construction documents. Design development documents show that the Sykesville project is currently 8% under budget, while the Freedom project is tracking on budget.

The Elmer Wolfe project is estimated to cost $1.7 million, Robert Moton will cost around $1.9 million, Runnymede’s cost estimate is $1.9 million, the Spring Garden project will cost around $1.4 million, Westminster is expected to cost $1.6 million, and Winchester Elementary will cost around $1.9 million, according to construction documents.

Each project will add one prekindergarten classroom, in addition to hallway, bathroom and workspaces, according to construction documents. Several construction plans carry an “additive alternate” to add an additional classroom, which would increase price but could maximize the value of the construction project. Cost estimates for additions at the six elementary schools are 2.5% higher than the current budget.

Southern area overcrowding

The Freedom Elementary addition would raise the school’s capacity from 525 to 637 students, while the Sykesville Middle project would increase the school’s capacity from 720 to 970 students, according to construction documents. Both schools are in Sykesville.

Freedom Elementary was 92 students over capacity (117%) during the 2022-23 school year; enrollment is projected to rise to 673 students by the time the project is completed in summer of 2027. Sykesville Middle was 28 students over capacity (104%) during the 2022-23 school year, according to the system’s capital budget plan.

Enrollment and capacity data will be reassessed when the projects are complete, Superintendent Cynthia McCabe said in August, especially since Freedom Elementary’s enrollment may exceed the additional space provided by the expansion.

Because of increasing enrollment, six portable classrooms would remain at Freedom Elementary after the project’s completion, according to construction documents, “until other measures are undertaken by Carroll County Southern Area Redistricting Committee.”

Carroll County commissioners voted in October to allow the developer of Eldersburg’s Mineral Hill subdivision to start the development process for 13 new homes before nearby Freedom Elementary can begin its planned addition of five classrooms. According to county law, Mineral Hill, to be located at Oklahoma and Mineral Hill roads in Eldersburg, should not be allowed to start building 13 planned homes until work at the school begins. There is already one house on the property; when fully built out, it will have 14 single-family homes.

The school board will also discuss an application to establish a charter school in Eldersburg on Wednesday. If approved, Carroll Classical Charter School aims to have 280 students in kindergarten through sixth grade and open its doors in fall 2026. Operators plan to expand to seventh and eighth grades by 2028, increasing capacity to 360, according to the application. So far, 310 students have expressed interest in attending the school.

Carroll Learning Alliance Vice President Bryan Thompson, a 13-year county resident with four children enrolled in the public school system, said opening the school should help address overcrowding in southern Carroll County schools. While Maryland school districts are required to fund public charters at rates commensurate with traditional schools, charter schools do not receive funding for facilities or capital projects, meaning they must independently fundraise for those expenses.

School board meetings are open to the public and live streamed on the Carroll County Public Schools YouTube channel and viewable on the right side of the Board of Education’s website at carrollk12.org/board-of-education/meeting-information, under CETV Livestream. Meetings are also broadcast throughout the month on Carroll Educational Television, Channel 21.

Anyone who wishes to participate must fill out an online sign-up form at carrollk12.org/board-of-education/meeting-information or call the communications office at 410-751-3020 by 9 p.m., on the Tuesday before a meeting.

Have a news tip? Contact Thomas Goodwin Smith at thsmith@baltsun.com.