QACPS approves FY25 budget, calls for future public support

CENTREVILLE — As the Queen Anne’s County Public Schools (QACPS) Board of Education approved its FY25 budget, they voiced appreciation for additional fundings found by the County Commissioners and gave a call to action to the public for future support needed at its work session June 26.

The FY25 budget includes the recently approved additional $1.2 million allocation by the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners, the majority of which will go toward teacher salaries and tutors, according to Chief Financial Officer Whitney Gast.

Noting the work put in and the financial struggle the district has seen the last several months, Board President Helen Bennett voiced appreciation that specialists will be available throughout the district even if they have to split positions, she said.

“It’s not ideal but I feel we did the best that we could with what our Blueprint requirements were and what we had to work with,” Bennett said.

The current county commissioners and BOE have had a good working relationship to ensure district essentials are funded, Board Vice President Richard Smith said.

Appreciating the work put in by the local county commissioners, Smith noted the rickety boat of funding was not unique to QACPS.

“It’s a problem with all counties on the shore,” Smith said, “What our commissioners gave us is historical compared to what most of these other counties are getting.”

Noting rising costs of healthcare and general business expenses as well as the district’s recently signed three-year teacher contract, Smith noted it wasn’t fair for the commissioners to continually advocate more money.

Help from the state will be imperative with future budget discussions, he said.

Gast noted a goal moving forward was to continually work with the county commissioners and be able to predict multiple budgetary years ahead of time.

“Our county went above and beyond, there’s really only so much we can keep requesting of them so we are appreciative of them,” Gast said.

Serious cuts are threatening the district unless public support is needed more than ever long before the finalizing decisions of the commissioners, Bennett said.

After September 30, the district will know enrollment sizes and Maintenance of Efforts, Smith said.

The State Legislative Sessions start in January, Bennett said, “So go down there and make your voices heard that we do need money…we need help from the state with all these mandates.”

In other business it was noted, QACPS welcomed Becky Berberich as supervisor of mathematics and the gifted and talented program.