At the April 16 Charles County commissioners’ meeting, the proposed county budget contribution to local public schools came in at about $17 million under the school system’s request.
For fiscal 2025, the Charles board of education requested $248.9 million from Charles government, which is $30 million more than the school system received for the current year.
The county’s proposed budget for schools came in about $231.4 million.
The Charles public school system’s budget is made up primarily of funding from state and county governments. Next year’s total budget request is $523.4 million, or about 9% over this year’s budget.
Currently, the proposed budget supports implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (the state’s education reform plan), the opening of the Waldorf Early Learning Center for pre-K students, collective bargaining assumptions for staff and other mandatory cost increases.
“As you are aware, the school system operating budget has historically counted for 45% of the overall county general fund budget,” school board Chairperson Yonelle Moore Lee said. “Unfortunately, we estimate that unless our budget is fully funded, CCPS fiscal year 2025 funding will account for only an anticipated 41% of the overall county budget.”
Moore Lee was troubled by the development with the rapid growth of the county and the growth of students in poverty.
In 2013 the systemwide poverty average for students was about 33%, but this school year it sits around 46%, Moore Lee said. Her projections have the poverty average up to over 49% next year — nearly half the students.
“We are losing ground in the investment in public education at a time when our children need it now more than ever,” Moore Lee said. “I urge the board of Charles County commissioners to rebalance education as a priority.”
“I just want to mention, when we do this budget, these are all things we have to do next year for one reason or another,” the school system’s Chief Financial Officer Karen Acton said. “The items that won’t be funded by this budget still have to be done.”
She said funding from the state could be even lower than what was previously reflected.
“It’s going to be a tough year for the school system,” Acton said. “The Blueprint is definitely a challenge.”
Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins II (D) said, “We understand how important this is for our children.”
Collins spoke for the commissioners, saying that they all have children who have been educated or are continuing to be educated at Charles public schools, and he stressed that he and his colleagues know how serious it is.
“The Blueprint has costing models for how much they provide for advanced placement and early college experiences for students,” Maria Navarro, the local school system’s superintendent, said. “When we do the math, to figure out how many kids are interested and need that opportunity, the dollars are not exactly panning dollar by dollar.”
Navarro said that she continues to remain committed to the reform efforts outlined in the Blueprint.
Commissioner Gilbert “BJ” Bowling (D) said, “We’re in tough times. You can see in our overall budget we’re pulling out of fund balance.”
In related news, the College of Southern Maryland’s budget request from Charles County for $11,319,800 was fully funded by the Charles commissioners in the proposed budget.
Most Popular
Comments / 0