Montgomery County Public Schools enrollment has declined by more than 4,000 students in one year and is projected to continue falling over the next decade, according to information presented to the Montgomery County Board of Education.
Preliminary enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year is 151,967 students, a decrease of 4,083 students from the previous year. MCPS is projecting the decline will continue. Enrollment is expected to fall to approximately 143,479 students within six years and 137,825 students within 10 years.
Based on those projections, MCPS would have approximately 14,142 fewer students a decade from now than it does today, a decline of about 9.3%. The enrollment figures were presented as part of an informational report on the proposed Fiscal Year 2028 Capital Budget and amendments to the FY 2027-2032 Capital Improvements Program during the Board of Education’s Thursday, Oct. 15 meeting.
MCPS identified declining enrollment as one of several major challenges facing the school system as it considers how to use its facilities and resources in the years ahead.
According to the district, the issue is not simply that the overall student population is shrinking. Enrollment is also unevenly distributed across the county, with some schools having excess capacity while other areas continue to experience growth.
The declining enrollment comes as MCPS is also dealing with an aging portfolio of school buildings. Of the 126 schools built or last renovated before 2000, approximately three out of four are rated as needing repairs or having unreliable building systems.
MCPS said the combination of fewer students, unevenly distributed enrollment and aging facilities means the district will need to rethink how it uses its buildings and resources while continuing to provide educational opportunities across the county.
The projections also provide additional context for MCPS’ ongoing Elementary and Middle School Consolidation and Closure Study, a separate two-year planning process examining long-term facilities needs, shifting enrollment and the potential for future school closures, consolidations or boundary adjustments.
MCPS has emphasized that no decisions regarding school closures, consolidations or boundary changes have been made. Any changes resulting from that process would not take effect until the 2029-2030 school year.
