Frederick County public schools outline FY26 needs-based budget with staffing, pay and capital requests

Frederick County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. George Hummer told a joint session of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors and the school board that his division’s needs-based FY26 budget seeks additional staff, targeted pay increases and $14.8 million in capital requests to address enrollment growth, special education and English-language-learner (ELL) services, safety and aging facilities.

Hummer said the division now serves about 14,569 students and employs 2,562 full‑time staff (about 3,000 including substitutes). He described the presentation as a work session and asked board members to limit lengthy interruptions while he reviewed the budget development, revenue mix and priorities.

The nut graf: The proposed needs-based budget breaks down where the division says it must add people and systems to meet legal and programmatic obligations — including 40 new staffing positions tied to staffing standards, expanded ELL and special‑education support, a push to uncluster teacher pay steps, and investments in safety, transportation and data systems — while asking the county for an increased transfer (the presentation estimated the county share at roughly 8.6–9.6% of the operating budget depending on state actions).

Hummer emphasized revenue and spending context early in the presentation: the division manages more than a third of a billion dollars across a dozen funds, draws roughly 50% of operating revenue from the state and about 46% from the county, and spends about 75% of operating dollars on instruction and roughly 83% of the overall budget on staff costs. He said average spending per pupil in Frederick County is about $15,000 versus a state average near $17,000 and a regional average slightly over $18,000.

On staffing and compensation, Hummer said the division is focusing pay…