At the most recent capital budget meeting, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater announced the operating budget for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. Fitzwater announced that despite budget cuts, the county plans to put money aside for the design phase of the Brunswick High School rebuilding project. This is big news for the Brunswick community, as a committee formed in 2019 has been continuing to advocate for a rebuild of Brunswick High, which is now the oldest high school in our county—as it opened in 1965.
Nathan Brown, the Mayor of Brunswick, is hopeful about the possibility of a new Brunswick High School getting closer. Mayor Brown says the new school is now set to open in the 2029-2030 school year.
“Given this new announcement, of funding being dedicated in the next budget year for the design of Brunswick High School, as well as the announcement that the county expects that the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) will approve the project in May, I am extremely hopeful for the future of a new Brunswick High School,” says Brown.
Brown also says, “The design is also just the first step, we want to be sure that the footprint of the school is large enough for future growth and allows us to be able to offer the best teaching and educational opportunities for our community looking far into the future.” This is important, as Brunswick City’s population went from 5,870 residents in 2010 to 7,762 residents in 2020 according to the census.
Advocacy for a new school began back in 2019, after a feasibility study, “The building, though well-maintained and having undergone a significant number of improvements, is not in compliance with current energy, mechanical, or electrical codes, building codes, or accessibility requirements and in many areas lacks modern mechanical and information technology systems.”
After this study, the community began to advocate, as the recommendation from the study was “…to proceed with a hybrid model of Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, which would involve a modernization of the existing building with potential for a future addition to follow as required to address capacity needs that may arise in the future.”
Therefore, the county was advised to renovate our school—not rebuild it.
Following extensive community advocacy, the recommendation was actually ignored by the board, as they voted to build a new Brunswick High. Although this was good news in the short term, the board later ruled to delay the project.
This was highlighted in the IAC Meeting Agenda on Thurs, Nov. 9, 2023, “Unfortunately, a year later, the BOE made a decision in approving its 2020 Educational Facilities Master Plan (EFMP) to delay replacement of BHS until approximately 2033 (the 2020 EFMP pushed the design phase for BHS to 2029, with construction scheduled to begin in 2030) (p. 50).” The Brunswick High School New Build Committee was then officially formed under the City of Brunswick, and continued to advocate at the county and state levels.
“The Brunswick High School New Build Committee was instrumental in advocating and keeping this project moving forward,” says Mayor Brown, “They are a group of dedicated volunteers who spend a significant amount of time researching, advocating, and problem solving for how a new Brunswick High School can be built.”
The delay mentioned in the IAC meeting was unfortunately due to budgetary constraints, and other schools that were deemed to be in more urgent need of renovation or reconstruction were placed ahead of Brunswick High. Despite the construction of other schools that were moved up on the list like Brunswick Elementary and Valley Elementary that feed into Brunswick High, it does not change the fact that Brunswick High School has desperately needed updates for almost 6 years now.
County Executive Fitzwater also announced 3 other new school projects in Monday’s meeting: a renovation to Twin Ridge Elementary School, Hillcrest Elementary School, and the construction of New Elementary School #41, set to open in 2026. The funding for those projects along with the funding for Brunswick High is being taken from a new property tax, which Fitzwater mentions in the meeting. The tax that Fitzwater is referring to raises property taxes, “…from $1.06 per $100 of assessed value to $1.11 per $100 of assessed value” and some of this money is set aside for capital renewal, as explained in an official county form. The form also lays out the purpose for the tax.
“While there are dedicated funds to address capacity issues related to student growth, there are limited fundingresources to address the ever-growing list of aging school replacements and renovations that exist in our community” which can be considered a reference to the aging building of Brunswick High School. Mayor Brown adds to the importance of funds, “Currently, the FCPS priority list and the county capital budget are in sync when it comes to Brunswick High School. This is good news and what we will watch for to be sure that this continues to stay in sync. This will ensure that the project continues to move forward on its suggested track.”
Mayor Brown says that some of the biggest challenges on the next steps to opening Brunswick High lies in the hands of the state and the county. “Right now the county and the school board need to evaluate the design to see how a new school can be built while the old school remains open. This will be critical to seeing this project move forward. We will be watching closely as this develops to see what potential solutions are presented and their impacts on current and future Brunswick High School students,” Brown explains.
Even students within the school feel the need for a new building, and are excited by the possibility of a new building finally coming to Brunswick High. Lindsay Pearre, a current sophomore at Brunswick High School says, “I think Brunswick has needed a new school for a while. […] I feel good about the possibility of getting a new school so I know that future students are in a newer, safer environment.” Pearre also states that, “A new school would improve the learning environment and be cleaner, free of bugs, and have more resources to expand learning.”
As the school gets older every day, it becomes more urgent for students to be housed in a newer, safer environment as a school that often experiences issues with the building and requires repairs throughout the school year. It is great progress for our school to have been officially approved and allotted money for a redesign, Mayor Brown shares, “Their [Brunswick High School New Build Committee] work is only just beginning as we will need to watch this project at every step of the way until its completion. Brunswick has always been a passionate community who comes together and works hard to advocate for the needs of our community.”