Carroll school board approves $460.2M budget, hoping county will fill $11M funding gap

The Carroll County Board of Education unanimously ratified a $460.2 million proposed operating budget for fiscal 2025 on Wednesday. The next step is approval by the Board of Carroll County Commissioners.

The school board is asking for a $17.9 million increase in sustained funding from the county, but also requested $6.4 million less in one-time funding from the county, resulting in a net gain of $11.8 million in county funds above fiscal 2024 levels.

School board member Donna Sivigny said she initially intended to vote against the budget but was convinced to vote for it after a discussion among board members at Wednesday’s meeting.

“What I’m struggling with is the fact that this is another significant increase over what the commissioners have budgeted for us,” Sivigny said. “It’s $11 million over. We’ve never gone with that large a gap between what the commissioners have already allocated to us.”

Sivigny said she is afraid of what will be cut if the budget is not fully funded, but said that the allocation of funds makes sense if the request for additional county funds is approved.

“I came in here tonight thinking I can’t in good conscience vote for this budget, because I’m so concerned about potential implications on students, student performance and outcomes based on what happens if the commissioners can’t fund this — but I feel that we need to be able to send the message to the commissioners,” Sivigny said.

The school board also anticipates a $9.6 million increase in state funds, and federal funding will decrease by nearly $3.9 million in fiscal 2025, which Assistant Superintendent of Operations Jon O’Neal said is largely due to pandemic-related funding ending.

Enrollment in fiscal 2024 increased by 295 students compared to the previous year, which increases the amount of anticipated funding from the state. Blueprint for Maryland’s Future-related funding increases also contributed to the $9.6 million increase in state funds. Nearly $1.8 million of the expected state funding increase will be restricted to Blueprint-related grants and early childhood education programs.

The Blueprint is a state law that fundamentally aims to send more resources to students who need them — such as those living in high concentrations of poverty. Blueprint’s many ambitious initiatives include universal prekindergarten for low-income families, improving career readiness for high school graduates, and shifting resources to better serve students eligible for compensatory education.

The fiscal 2025 budget’s spending increases represent a $19.2 million increase for employee salaries, $6.9 million in inflationary impacts, $4.6 million for technology, $2 million for special education, $700,000 in state Blueprint requirements and $400,000 for transportation.

Board of Education President Marsha Herbert and board member Patricia Dorsey expressed their support for the proposed budget.

“Strategically this is the right decision,” Herbert said.

Herbert praised the school board’s ability to address budget issues in collaboration with the commissioners and the Carroll County Education Association. She said the proposed budget reflects the system’s priorities.

“Our primary goal now has to be to hire and retain the best-qualified teachers, to continue our investment in academic endeavors, and we still need to be a leader in the state,” Herbert said. “We will need to work hand in hand with our commissioners to get this accomplishment done.”

Each year of Blueprint’s 10-year rollout comes with its own set of spending mandates. Fiscal year 2025 is a relatively smooth step in the implementation path, O’Neal told commissioner and school board members during a joint meeting on Jan. 11, but fiscal 2026 will require funding leap because a $60,000 salary minimum for teachers must be in place by fiscal 2027. The fiscal 2025 budget endeavors to ease the transition by allocating money for employee salaries now.

Board of Education Vice President Tara Battaglia said the budget reflects the county’s need to keep pace with other counties in attracting teachers and supporting students amid the Blueprint’s rollout.

Board member Steve Whisler said spending significantly more money on each year’s budget is not sustainable, even with significant county tax increases.

“This is serious,” Whisler said, “and I have strong reservations about supporting a budget like this, but we have no choice from my perspective.”

If the commissioners do not approve the school system’s funding request, the school board will be forced to make cuts. Sivigny said she will not support reducing spending on students, such as increasing class sizes as a result of staffing cuts.

“Based on the comments that occurred here tonight, I think I can reluctantly vote to support this budget,” Sivigny said. “I just want to say that when it comes to having to reconcile based on what the commissioners determine, I am very unwilling to take actions that would be detrimental to student services or student performance, meaning larger class sizes and things like that.”

The proposed budget includes a total of more than $247 million in local funding, $188 million from the state and $17 million in federal revenue, as well as $7 million from other sources.

The system’s approved $442.6 million fiscal 2024 budget is $36 million higher than the previous year’s budget and includes a $12.9 million increase in funds from Carroll County and a $13.6 million increase in state funds.

The school board on Wednesday also unanimously approved proposed food service and debt service budgets.

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to adopt a budget for fiscal 2025 on May 21, after months of hearings, work sessions and roadshows. Each new fiscal year starts July 1.

New bleachers approved for South Carroll and Francis Scott Key high schools

The school board also on Wednesday unanimously approved $567,600 for the purchase and installment of new bleachers for Francis Scott Key and South Carroll high schools.

South Carroll’s bleachers cost $364,900, and FSK’s were $202,700, both from Hussey Seating Corp.

Herbert said she knows first-hand that the Francis Scott Key High School bleachers need replacement.

“It was a safety issue,” Herbert said.

The school’s bleachers do not have hand railings, feature at least one oversized step, and are particularly unfit for older adults, Herbert said. She said she has seen a person fall while trying to climb the bleachers.

“I sit on the bottom or the second one, and I’m not trying to go up there just because they are rickety-rackety right now,” Herbert said. “So I have seen that.”

The school board also approved $52,920 to fix water flow and pressure issues at Francis Scott Key High School, $52,590 for supplies to support the Carroll County Career and Technology Center’s welding program, and $28,059 to buy a 3D printer for the center’s engineering program.