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MCPS begins line‑by‑line audit of federal, state and local unfunded mandates
Summary
Finance staff told the committee they have begun a line‑by‑line review to identify unfunded mandates — from environmental testing to special education maintenance‑of‑effort obligations — and will finalize the district's unfunded mandate list in the coming month.
Yvonne Alfonso Windsor told the Fiscal Management Committee that the district has started a systematic review to identify unfunded mandates embedded in federal, state and local laws and regulations.
Alfonso Windsor said examples include environmental compliance (lead, radon and asbestos testing) with roughly $6,400,000 annual cost in the MCPS budget, local match requirements for Head Start (about $3,200,000 local match against a $4,500,000 grant), transportation obligations for McKinney‑Vento students (about $975,000 annually) and recurring background checks, AED/CPR training and annual financial audit expense. She noted pre‑K expansion under the Blueprint for Maryland's Future totals about $33,000,000 in MCPS costs with the Blueprint funding about 30% currently; staff said that portion could shift to local funding over time.
Alfonso Windsor explained special education presents multiple maintenance‑of‑effort pressures: the district must meet overall special education MOE and a separate infants‑and‑toddlers MOE tied to federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding. She said federal IDEA funding levels have not kept pace with local costs and that to receive federal grants the district must spend equal or more than prior‑year local amounts; staff gave FY23 and FY24 spending examples and said FY26 spending requirements will be higher than FY25. Committee members asked for more detail and staff said the current presentation is a starting point and the full list and quantified dollar impacts will be completed within weeks.
Board members suggested the district also check for other recent state laws that could create unfunded requirements. Alfonso Windsor said the menstrual hygiene products obligation is one example not yet enumerated in the staff list and that the final unfunded‑mandate inventory will be shared when complete.
Less critical details: staff noted that the district treats special education as a core responsibility while also classifying federal and state compliance costs operationally as unfunded mandates because the expected federal or state funding does not cover full local costs.
