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Teacher of the Year and residents urge county to increase per‑pupil funding
Summary
At the Wicomico County Board of Education February meeting, public commenters including the county Teacher of the Year criticized the county's maintenance‑of‑effort funding and urged a long‑term funding formula; speakers also voiced support for recent redistricting.
Debbie Reynolds, the 2025 Wicomico County Teacher of the Year, told the Wicomico County Board of Education on Wednesday that local government funding for schools has fallen in real terms and sends a negative message to students and staff.
"When I was a senior in 2010, the Wicomico County government allocated $3,623 in per pupil funding. Guess how much the county government allocated this year? $3,583 per pupil," Reynolds said, adding that the county now ranks last among Maryland's 24 jurisdictions for per‑pupil local funding.
Reynolds said she served on a blue‑ribbon panel of educators, business leaders, parents and officials reviewing short‑ and long‑term funding needs and urged the board to press county leaders for more than the state minimum maintenance‑of‑effort allocation. "I can no longer stay silent in regards to the Wicomico County government and how they are choosing to allocate funds for our school system at a maintenance of effort level," she said.
Chris Eccleston, who identified himself as a business owner in the county, backed Reynolds and argued for a multiyear operating formula. "We need to look long term 10 to 15 years out and create an operating formula of how the school system is funded," Eccleston said, suggesting maintenance of effort plus CPI plus 2 percent as an example to improve predictability.
Resident Bev Urich offered congratulations to a student, Julia Gore, appointed to the Maryland General Assembly page program and said she supported the board's redistricting work.
Why it matters: Public funding decisions determine staffing, class size and programs available to students. Speakers at the meeting said current local funding levels constrain educational options and described efforts underway to propose changes to county allocations.
Board members did not immediately respond with an action at the meeting; the public comment period is advisory. The board and superintendent discussed budget development and state funding uncertainty elsewhere in the agenda and encouraged public comment on the FY2026 budget during the posted public comment window.
