Montgomery County Public Schools included an updated list of future school sites in an October 2025 CIP update, outlining dozens of properties across the county that are reserved, planned, or protected for potential public school use (full list available below).
The list includes three main categories: Board of Education owned sites, master planned school sites titled to other entities, and Board of Education owned sites under perpetual easement. Together, they provide a snapshot of where MCPS could build or expand schools in the coming decades, while also showing which sites are no longer viable for development due to legal or environmental restrictions. This is not a list of scheduled or proposed renovations.
The largest portion of the list consists of Board of Education owned sites that remain available for future school construction. These include long discussed locations such as Brickyard Middle School in Potomac, Crown High School near Fields Road in Gaithersburg (under construction), Kings Bridge Middle School in Damascus, Laytonsville Middle School, and Monocacy Middle School in Poolesville. Several elementary school sites are also included, such as Hawkins Creamery Road Elementary, Kendale Elementary, Northwest Branch Elementary, Oak Drive Elementary, and Woodwards Road Elementary. Acreage for these sites generally ranges from about 9 acres to more than 30 acres, depending on the planned school type and location.
Some sites on the list are already seeing activity with the Crown High School site and the Northeast Consortium Elementary School site number 17 are currently under construction.
Another section of the document highlights master planned school sites that are titled to other entities rather than the Board of Education. These properties are typically embedded in broader development plans and would require coordination with developers or other landowners before a school could move forward. Examples include the Falls Grove Elementary School site in Rockville, Great Seneca Science Corridor Elementary near Great Seneca Highway, King Farm Elementary and Middle School sites in Gaithersburg, and West Old Baltimore Road Elementary in Clarksburg. Several of these sites are relatively small, reflecting their placement within dense or mixed use developments.
The final category includes Board of Education owned sites that are under perpetual easement and cannot be used for school development. These include the Briggs Chaney Road Middle School site and the former William H. Farquhar Middle School site. MCPS notes that these properties are restricted due to Special Protection Area or Rural Open Space easements, meaning they are preserved for environmental or land use reasons despite being publicly owned.
Altogether, the October 2025 update provides insight into how MCPS is planning ahead for future growth while balancing land availability, environmental protections, and long range enrollment trends. While many of these sites may remain undeveloped for years, the list serves as a roadmap for where new schools could eventually rise as Montgomery County continues to change.