Worcester County board reviews FY26 budget showing about $4.6M increase; votes to engage MABE for superintendent search

WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. — The Worcester County Board of Education on Jan. 27 reviewed a proposed Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget that would raise spending by about $4.6 million from FY25 and discussed state aid changes, technology and special-education cost pressures. During the meeting the board also voted unanimously to engage the Maryland Association of Boards of Education for a superintendent search and approved a closed-session meeting under state law to discuss personnel negotiations.

The draft FY26 proposal, presented by Mr. Tolbert, staff member, and Terry Searing, the district’s finance manager, projects an overall local operating increase of roughly $4.6 million while noting several large, uncertain state and federal funding items. "The first column listed type of aid that we received. ... you can see in FY25, we received $25,950,045 in those funds," Mr. Tolbert said while walking the board through a one-page state-aid summary included in the packet.

Why it matters: Worcester County Public Schools serves about 7,000 students and the board said many line-item restorations and additions are intended to maintain class sizes, restore extracurricular pay and rebuild programs reduced in prior years. Several budget items are also driven by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and other policy requirements that the board said are only partially funded through state allocations.

Most significant revenue and cost items discussed

- State aid and the governor’s proposal: Tolbert said the governor’s FY26 proposal would delay a planned per-student increase of $163 (the amount tied to planning time) and reduce the district’s projected state-aid increase from about $1,466,297 to $1,109,630 — roughly $357,000 less if the proposal survives the legislature. The presentation repeatedly noted that the governor’s proposal must still pass the General Assembly and final numbers are expected in April.

- Blueprint funding and…