The Board of Education unanimously approved superintendent Joshua Starr’s call for a $223.3 million increase in the school construction budget Nov. 17. The request will be submitted to the Montgomery County Council for approval and final amendments will be approved by May.

The money will go toward the Capital Improvements Program (CIP). The program aims to modernize, revitalize and expand schools in the county, according to a press release on the MCPS website.

The CIP is a six-year plan for school improvement that includes a high school renovation about every two years. MCPS is currently renovating Wheaton and Edison, with Seneca Valley as the next school on the list.

The Board hopes that the budget increase will prevent them from pushing back CIP by a year, which they would have had to do if the request had not been approved, BOE president Philip Kauffman said at a student press conference Oct. 29.

“The needs of our system and the growth that we are experiencing is extreme and we need help,” Starr said in an announcement of his request.