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Now that the school board has approved a revised construction schedule for the next six years, the push begins to get the plan fully funded by the county executive and the County Council.

On Nov. 19, the school board unanimously approved a six-year, $1.49 billion construction plan to build an elementary school and middle school in the Clarksburg cluster and expand nine others.

For fiscal 2011, the school system is requesting $253.2 million for construction projects, according to the proposal.

That plan could be tough to fully fund, given that the county has a total of $330 million in bonds available for all county projects, said County Council President Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg.

"I think it is a very optimistic request," he said of the school system's funding request. "It would be very difficult to fund their entire request because other projects would have to be cut.

"We're going to give it very careful consideration and look at it in comparison to other projects that are proposed."

The council was expected to discuss the school construction plan Tuesday after The Gazette went to press.

Under the approved plan, the school system is scheduled to expand Bradley Hills, Darnestown, Georgian Forest, Somerset, Viers Mill, Waters Landing, Westbrook and Wyngate elementary schools and Clarksburg High School.

The plan also calls for the replacement of roofs and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, and the modernization of schools throughout the county.

School board member Philip Kauffman intends to introduce a resolution at the board's Dec. 8 meeting to require school officials to discuss the length of time between school modernizations.

"I think the schedule that we have is too long," said Kauffman (At-large) of Olney. "We need to be looking at how we are addressing modernizations in the long run."

School board Vice President Patricia B. O'Neill, however, said that a discussion about the school system's modernization schedule should be put on hold until after the current construction budget proposal is funded. "The testimony we heard from everyone was very supportive, very excited," said O'Neill (Dist. 3) of Bethesda. "We need it all. We need it tomorrow."

Of the school system's total funding request for next year, $139.1 million would come from the state. The rest of the plan would be financed through a mix of construction bonds and federal aid.

Education is a top priority for County Executive Isiah Leggett, but "we're still looking at the [construction plan] requests, so it's really early for us to say what we're going to do," said county spokesman Patrick Lacefield.

Leggett (D) has until Jan. 15 to propose his construction plan for the county. The County Council has the final say on the plan.

Superintendent Jerry D. Weast has proposed that the school system get half of the construction bonds that the county is issuing over the next six years. On average, the school system receives 37 percent of the construction bond money, said Dana Tofig, a school system spokesman.

The plan approved last week also included an amendment for the school system to interact with community members and school staff about ways to relieve the overcrowding at Oakland Terrace Elementary School in Silver Spring until the nearby McKinney Hills Elementary is reopened in August 2012.

Oakland Terrace is built to hold 456 students, but has 792 students enrolled this academic year, according to school system information. Next year, Oakland Terrace is projected to have 873 students, the data show.

The construction is scheduled to begin in fiscal 2011 and be completed in time for the 2012-2013 school year, according to the approved construction plan.