The administrators of Charles County Public Schools are proposing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) that will protect the system from state cuts that are anticipated down the road. During the Tuesday, May 10 meeting of the Charles County Board of Education (BOE) Assistant Superintendent of Finance, Business and Technology Paul T. Balides presented the proposed $299.2 million budget for FY 2012.
Balides said Charles is expected to receive an additional $5.4 million in state funding based on the school system’s increase in enrollment and the county’s reduced wealth.
The Charles County Commissioners plans to allocate an additional $324,000 in funding for FY 2012 in order to meet state-mandated maintenance of effort requirements.
The county’s school system funding, which is expected to total $145.09 million, represents approximately 52 percent of the county government’s operating budget.
The state funding is expected to total over $144.54 million. The county also receives local and federal funds. Balides indicated $1.3 million of the additional money will be placed in fund balance. The Budget is being further balanced with the use of funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act’s Education Jobs Funding Program, a $1.5 million budget reduction as a result of the elimination of 27.5 vacant positions, a 10-cent raise in the cost of school lunches and health insurance cost savings.
Balides stated that 79 percent of the school system’s budget “is for compensation.”
The assistant superintendent explained the budget was crafted in anticipation of increases in transportation, utilities and technology costs.
School system administrators will hold $3.46 million in reserve for salary negotiations with the Education Association of Charles County (EACC).
The superintendent’s proposed budget “is not we would have hoped,” said EACC President Elizabeth Brown. “Our educators have done their part in helping to prevent the state from shifting the pension cost to the counties and to restore cuts to education at the state level. The tentative agreement reached at the bargaining table will help, and we understand that the BOE’s funding is limited, but even with that, educators will still be frozen one step off scale, and facing
