Frederick County plans to fully or partially fund several school renovation and construction projects to address overcrowding and aging infrastructure, without raising taxes for residents.
Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater announced over half of the county’s $1 billion budget would go to fund the Frederick County Public School System (FCPS) in April. In addition to the more than $508 million allocated to FCPS, $175 million in funds will go to projects to renovate old schools or build new ones.
This 86% increase in funding for school projects over last year does not come with an increase to the taxes Frederick residents will have to pay.
Fitzwater explained a five cent property tax introduced in last fiscal year will provide a constant revenue stream into the County’s Dedicated Reserve for Future Years for School Construction. Funds from the Dedicated Reserve will be used to pay for the renovations. “We were able to move forward -by a year- two limited renovation projects at two of our older elementary schools,” Fitzwater said. “Hillcrest, in the city of Frederick, and also Twin Ridge Elementary, which is in Mount Airy.”
The projects at both schools will improve the buildings’ aging infrastructure as well as improve the classroom environment for students, Fitzwater said, without a need to interrupt classes.
The Dedicated Reserve can only be used for projects that don’t increase the total number of “seats” at a school, Fitzwater clarified, but Frederick is the fastest growing county in the state. As new homes are built, Developer Impact Fees allow the County to keep up. “Those fees are paid because they’re having an impact on the schools, and there’s a recognition that they’re adding students,” Fitzwater said.
The county plans to fully fund a new school in eastern Frederick to address overcrowding, as some schools throughout the county are reaching up to 170% capacity.
One of the challenges the county faces comes from the way school capacity and funding is calculated at a state level, Fitzwater explained.
The student population of each school in Maryland is counted in September, Fitzwater said, and that number is used to determine how much funding a school receives from the state. Any student who enrolls afterwards is not accounted for in those numbers. “In Frederick County, it’s hundreds and hundreds of students that enroll in FCPS after September 30,” Fitzwater said. “We’re not accounting for those students in our funding formulas, the way that it works right now.”
Fitzwater explained both the 5 cent property tax and the Developer Impact Fees will allow Frederick to fund school projects despite the difficulties they face.
