School leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland, are mapping out their plan for public meetings about possible school closures.

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This comes as enrollment in the county’s public schools declines for the first time in more than 40 years, the school district said. It means that a number of schools have more available space than they need.

WTOP reported in August that the student population in the current school year was projected to reach 150,746 students, and Montgomery County Public Schools estimated enrollment would drop to 139,402 students within the next decade.

The school district has scheduled two rounds of 10 public meetings on such topics as how schools and resources are organized, where students are located and whether schools have the people, programs and space needed to support students and staff. 

The school board said round one will occur from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2 and discuss how the program will work. 

The conversation in round two, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 10, will move toward the ways potential school closures and consolidation should be evaluated.

The school system emphasized that no decisions have been made, “and this is not a process in which a list of schools has already been determined,” MCPS said in a release. “The work begins with the data, the criteria and community input.”

MCPS staff will provide details on the closures and consolidation study and the community engagement process at a county Board of Education meeting Thursday.

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