Annual School Test evaluates school-capacity adequacy and guides Utilization Premium Payments for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2026
WHEATON, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), certified the fiscal year 2027 Annual School Test results and accepted the countywide component of the accompanying School Utilization Report at its June 25 meeting, in accordance with the 2024-2028 Growth and Infrastructure Policy (GIP). The Annual School Test evaluates the capacity adequacy of the county’s K-12 public school facilities and places service areas of schools projected to be overutilized in Utilization Premium Payment tiers for the duration of the fiscal year.
View the June 25 Planning Board staff report
View the FY2027 Annual School Test results
View the FY2027 Countywide School Utilization Report
Under the GIP, the Annual School Test evaluates the projected utilization of each Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) facility four years in the future – the 2030-31 school year for the FY2027 test. If a school is expected to exceed certain utilization thresholds, its school service area is placed in a Utilization Premium Payment (UPP) tier. When a development application proposes a residential unit in a school service area with a UPP tier placement, a UPP is levied by default as a condition of development approval to help mitigate the overutilization, and a surcharge is applied to the project’s school impact tax rate. A school impact tax is due on residential development regardless of school utilization levels as their pro rata share of the cost to build a school. UPPs are paid in addition to the school impact tax when required as a condition of approval. There are three different UPP tiers—Tier 1 for moderate overutilization, Tier 2 for intermediate, and Tier 3 for the highest overutilization—with corresponding payment rates. While the UPP surcharge rate is determined at the time of approval, the actual amount due is assessed at the time of building permit and is dependent on the school impact tax rate of the fiscal year it is paid. View the current UPP rates.
Advertisement
In addition to the UPP Tier placement, the Annual School Test also determines the adequacy ceiling for subsequent tiers of each school service area. If a development application is estimated to generate students in excess of the adequacy ceiling at any school, then the payment factor is adjusted upward in proportion to the number of students counted toward each payment tier.
Staff from the Montgomery County Planning Department, also part of The M-NCPPC, prepared the FY2027 Annual School Test results, which will take effect on July 1, 2026, in accordance with the Annual School Test Guidelines v 2.0 adopted by the Planning Board on December 19, 2024. The results will be applied to the new middle school and high school service areas approved by the Board of Education on March 26, 2026.
Summary of the FY2027 Annual School Test
Tier 1 UPP placement:
- James Hubert Blake HS
- Winston Churchill HS
- Francis Scott Key MS
- Cashell ES
Tier 2 UPP placement:
Advertisement
- Burning Tree ES
- Cabin Branch ES
Tier 3 UPP placement:
- Mill Creek Towne ES
FY2027 School Utilization Report
The GIP also requires Montgomery Planning to prepare a School Utilization Report to accompany the Annual School Test. The report typically consists of a countywide report and individual school reports that together provide supplemental information about MCPS facilities. The latest projections from MCPS indicate that countywide, there will be over 4,900 surplus seats available at the high school level (9% of the county’s total high school capacity), over 7,100 surplus seats available at the middle school level (18% of total capacity), and over 13,300 surplus seats available at the elementary school level (17% of total capacity) at the end of the six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) cycle (2031-2032 school year). A snapshot of 2025 housing data, which includes single-family home sales, housing development, and total residential dwelling units by school service area, is also provided in the countywide School Utilization Report. This year, due to the Board of Education’s approved boundary change decisions leading to an unprecedented delay in MCPS’s projections, the individual school reports will be posted at a later time on Montgomery Planning’s Annual School Test and School Utilization Report webpage.
About the Growth and Infrastructure Policy
The GIP addresses the adequacy of public facilities as it relates to the regulatory or development review process. It sets standards for evaluating individual development proposals to determine if the surrounding public infrastructure, such as transportation networks and school facilities, can accommodate the demands of the development. It also outlines requirements for mitigating inadequate infrastructure. The County Council adopted the 2024-2028 Growth and Infrastructure Policy via resolution on November 12, 2024.
Read the original article at montgomeryplanning