St. Mary's County
Public Schools
School Capacities
ELEMENTARY CAPACITY OVERVIEW
The State Rated Capacity is defined as the maximum number of students that can be reasonably accommodated in a facility without significantly hampering delivery of the educational program. Classrooms, or spaces used as classrooms, smaller than 550 square feet in floor area will generally not be counted for capacity purposes. Elementary school capacity is derived by multiplying the number of classrooms by the student/teacher ratio for each grade level and adding the totals. At the elementary school level there is a difference between the state and local guidelines with regards to the student/teacher ratio for each grade level. The Public School Construction Program and the Maryland Department of Planning in approving school construction projects utilize the state rated capacity. St. Mary's County Public Schools constructs and staffs elementary schools at a lower student/teacher ratio. The additional classrooms required to meet the lower class size are totally funded utilizing county funds. In existing schools, the difference in class size is accommodated with the use of relocatable classrooms. As of July 1, 2005, the state changed their calculation for elementary school grades 1 - 5 to 23 students per class. As a result, the school system lowered their grade levels to match in grades 3 - 5. The school system utilizes a lower class size of 21 students in grades 1 - 2. The difference between the state and local class size calculations are listed below:
| Grade Level | State Class Size | Local Class Size |
|---|---|---|
| PreKindergarten | 20 | 20 |
| Kindergarten | 22 | 20 |
| Grades 1 – 2 | 23 | 21 |
| Grades 3 – 5 | 23 | 23 |
| Special Education | 10 | 8 |
SECONDARY CAPACITY OVERVIEW
At the secondary level, there is no difference between state and local student/teacher ratios per classroom. Each classroom in grades 6 - 8 are counted as 25 students per classroom, with special education classrooms at 10 students per classroom. The capacity is calculated at 85% of the product of the number of teaching stations at 25 students per classroom and then adding the product of the number of teaching stations for special education at 10 students per classroom. The 85% utilization factor reflects that at the secondary level a classroom may not be utilized 100% of the time based on scheduling. A teaching station at the secondary level includes general classrooms, special purpose labs, career technology, business education, band and chorus, art, mechanical drawings, home economics, and weight and wrestling rooms. A gymnasium, which has standard inter-scholastic basketball courts, is counted as two teaching stations. Teaching stations, or spaces used as teaching stations, which are smaller than 500 square feet in floor area will generally not be counted for capacity purposes.
Example:
76 classrooms x 25 = 1,900 x 85% = 1,615
8 Special Ed. x 10 = 80 x 100% = 80
Total School State Rated Capacity = 1,695